Marcus Rashford has rushed to support Manchester United teammate Jadon Sancho after Chelsea rubber-stamped their place in the UEFA Conference League quarter-finals.
Both the England internationals are on loan away from Old Trafford having endured difficulties during the time with United. Sancho has been in the capital since the beginning of this season, after spending the second half of the last campaign in Germany with former club Borussia Dortmund.
Rashford has re-found his form at Villa Park under Unai Emery, meanwhile, after finding game-time hard to come by under new head coach Ruben Amorim. The 27-year-old has since helped Aston Villa progress into the next round of the FA Cup and Champions League, as well as a first England since March 2024.
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Sancho featured for the Londoners as Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's goal was the only goal of the night, as Chelsea beat FC Copenhagen 3-1 on aggregate. After playing 65 minutes, the 24-year-old then posted to Instagram following the progression into the last-eight.
"On to the Quarter-Finals! @chelseafc [muscle emoji]," the forward wrote. There was a host of responses from the likes of Cole Palmer and Dewsbury-Hall, but United teammate Rashford was also among them, replying with a fire emoji.
An exchange between the two hit the headlines recently after Sancho commented on one of Rashford's posts. The ex-Dortmund attacker came under fire after replying with "freedom" - after the United Academy graduate made his debut for Aston Villa.
After four assists in his first nine appearances in the Midlands, Rashford has been afforded the opportunity to add to his 60 England caps. New Three Lions head coach Thomas Tuchel said: "I had the feeling that we need to reward him now, we need to feel him, he needs to be close to me, that he does not fall back into old routines.
"He stepped up his game impressively [at Aston Villa] against the ball. This is the most important point for him; the intensity after ball loss. The tracking back on the side. The sprinting. The hunting down, make sure you're in position.
"That he can bully defenders, we know all that... we forgot a little bit about it but we know it. But he is a complete package. But at the same time, we want to make sure that he stays on track."
