Marcus Rashford social media message after first non-Man Utd game exceeds 700k likes | OneFootball

Marcus Rashford's short but sweet Instagram message to Aston Villa's supporters in the aftermath of his debut has shown just how much support he has behind him.

The 27-year-old has endured a rollercoaster couple of months, falling out of favour under Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim and ultimately looking for alternative employment for the first time in his playing career.

Rashford has played 426 times for United across all competitions, scoring 138 goals, but barring a dramatic U-turn, it's seen as "extremely unlikely" that he'll ever don the famous red shirt again.

Handed a career lifeline by Aston Villa, Rashford now hopes to impress new manager Unai Emery during a six-month loan spell, which includes a £40m option to buy. A three-and-a-half-year contract is thought to be on the table should things go well at Villa Park.

Sunday's FA Cup clash with Tottenham Hotspur was Rashford's first chance to play for his new club, though he was forced to wait until the 66th minute as Emery opted to start the lively Donyell Malen, another January signing, up front in place of the injured Ollie Watkins.

Rashford was well received when he came on and posted on social media after Villa's 2-1 win a simple message that read: "Thank you for the warm welcome. Great team performance."

It has subsequently been liked over 700,000 times, showcasing just how popular the forward is despite near-constant criticism in the media.

🔗 Instagram

A great team performance is exactly what Villa put in as they booked a place in the fifth round of English football's iconic cup competition for the first time since 2015.

Jacob Ramsey, a Villa academy graduate, benefitted from a handling error from Spurs goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky to give the home side the lead, and that was doubled on the hour-mark the impressive Morgan Rogers, who picked up the player of the match award for his display.

Rashford's half-hour cameo saw him complete 93% of the passes he attempted, win three out of the five ground duels he contested and one aerial battle - his presence immediately felt by Tottenham centre-back Kevin Danso as the duo collided in the air.

Marco Asensio almost made his debut for Villa, joining Rashford from the bench as the Champions League hopefuls flexed their squad depth muscles for the first time after a successful January window.