Marcus Rashford has come in for some heavy criticism this season, with many fans and pundits alike questioning whether the 21-year-old is good enough to lead the line for Manchester United.

Now in his fifth season as a United player, Rashford has blown hot and cold in matches at the start of the current campaign but still has five goals to his name.

All five of those goals have been scored in Premier League matches. United have only managed to net 13 league goals in total this season, meaning Rashford has scored more than a third of his side’s goals so far.

Rashford bagged his 50th goal for the Red Devils during Sunday’s 3-1 win over Norwich City at Carrow Road.

The England international immediately made amends for the penalty he’d missed a minute earlier.

Rashford is United’s top scorer for the current campaign and his statistics when compared to Liverpool’s revered duo Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane will certainly raise eyebrows.

One United fan (@NotoriousManc on Twitter) has posted a tweet comparing Rashford’s goals and assists stats for the season so far to those registered by Salah and Mane.

Check it out…

The much-maligned Rashford has the same number of goals and assists as Salah in the league this season and boasts the same number of goals but more assists than Mane.

It’s worth noting that some data providers actually credit Mane with three assists this season, but others - including WhoScored - claim he’s only provided one.

Either way, these are still surprisingly impressive stats from Rashford, who has received more than his fair share of stick in recent weeks.

Stats aren’t everything, of course, but it certainly suggests that people (many United fans included) might be guilty of going in too hard on the youngster.

One man who has defended Rashford in recent weeks is his manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

"He is still learning what finishes to make in different circumstances," the United boss said amid criticism of his centre-forward last month. ”I don't worry about it."

He added: ”There are not many traditional number nines left now. Marcus can play right, left, up front on his own, or as a number 10.

"But the big thing is he is still young. As a striker he won't hit his peak until he is 26 or 27."