Bittersweet - Rashford on wearing Utd captain armband for 1st time in City loss

Marcus Rashford admitted that his first experience of captaining Manchester United was "bittersweet" as Man City won the Manchester derby 3-1.

The United striker was handed the captain's armband by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, in the absences of Ashley Young and Harry Maguire, against City in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final at Old Trafford — and his second half goal brought the Reds back into the tie.

That was after first-half strikes from Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez and an Andreas Pereira own goal saw City storm into a 3-0 first half lead.

United were abject but Rashford helped them recover after the break when he latched onto Mason Greenwood's pass and finished beyond Claudio Bravo. He then almost caught the City goalkeeper out with a late long-range shot but the deficit remained at two goals.

The 22-year-old reacted to the derby defeat after the game and insisted United had a fighting chance to turning the tie around.

He tweeted: "Bittersweet to lead out my boyhood team for the first time but lose the game. Still in the tie and we'll give it all we've got at The Etihad. Thanks for the support."

Rashford's goal was his 20th of the season in all competitions for club and country and his fourth in three Carabao Cup appearances this season after scoring in previous rounds against Colchester and Chelsea. It was also United's first goal of 2020 — and their only one so far.