The responsibility to fire Manchester United to a top four finish and Europa League glory will be left to Marcus Rashford following Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s season-ending injury.

The 19-year-old has regularly been moved to the wing to accommodate Ibrahimovic’s position as a central striker but he is now the main man after the Swede ruptured knee ligaments in United’s win over Anderlecht last week.

It’s awful news for Ibra, who might have played his final game for the Red Devils. And although Rashford will be disappointed to see him leave - which will happen if United do not offer him a contract extension, as is expected - he will be acutely aware of the opportunity he has to prove himself to Jose Mourinho.

The United boss started Rashford on the wing against Manchester City last night, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan playing as a false nine, but it’s unlikely he will spring another tactical surprise in United’s forthcoming matches.

United secured a 0-0 draw in last night’s derby, a result Mourinho will be pleased with considering his side managed 16 fewer shots that their opponents and played the final 10 minutes with 10 men.

Jose: The players were resilient

The Portuguese praised the resilience of his players after the match.

“We showed exactly that against a good team, against a strong team that wants to win the match at home,” the 54-year-old said, via United’s website.

“Playing with 10 men, without any midfield players to make any kind of change because I didn’t have any midfield players on the bench. I played Tim Fosu-Mensah in that extreme situation.

“The team is in trouble, the team has a lot of problems and to play a big derby like this one the way we did shows resilience, shows big character from the players.”

Mourinho praised Rashford

Mourinho singled out Rashford for praise after the match, saying: “Marcus gave lots of problems to their defenders, they stopped him sometimes with lots of fouls, so for me the spirit was amazing,” per the Manchester Evening News.

The England international was full of running and gave Nicolas Otamendi fits in the first half. And in the second, he showed the desire of a top striker when Marouane Fellaini missed the chance to put him through.

Rashford was annoyed with Fellaini's pass

Rashford had made a run in behind City’s defence when Fellaini came forward with the ball. But instead of playing a through pass to the striker, the Belgian opted to pass the ball sideways to Anthony Martial.

Needless to say, Rashford was annoyed. Watch the video below.

Watch: Fellaini passes sideways - to Rashford's annoyance

Fellaini would go on to receive a red card before the final whistle. Not a good night.

Will Rashford be United's leading striker next season - or will Jose sign another forward? Let us know in the comments section below!