Rushford goal and an assist was vital as Manchester United beat League One outfit Northampton to progress to the EFL Cup Fourth Round where they will face Manchester City.
Michael Carrick, Ander Herrera and Marcus Rushford were all in scoresheet as Manchester united condemned Nothermpton to 3-1 defeat.
Michael Carrick had given United the lead as he capitalised on a rebound from a Wayne Rooney free-kick, which had been conceded when Adam Smith picked up a long back pass from Matt Taylor.
An Alex Revell penalty levelled things up, but more sloppy defending gifted a strong United side the win in the second half.
Town stood off Ander Hererra to unleash a rocket into the bottom corner from distance, and then keeper Adam Smith made the kind of error as he completely missed a long punt up field, leaving Marcus Rashford to tap home.
Cobblers statement after the defeat.
“We had a hand in all three goals, and when you give goals away like that at any level you’re going to get punished, but certainly against a side like Manchester United.
“That’s what’s frustrating, because the effort levels were fantastic. The goals disappoint us, we gifted them all three. When you give teams like that there’s only one outcome.”
Mourinho hails performance
Jose Mourinho certainly paid respect to the Cobblers by naming a strong line-up, including England captain Wayne Rooney.
“We deserved to win clearly,” Mourinho told Sky Sports. “(It was as) difficult as I was expecting, but we were totally in control for the first 35 minutes and then we were again in control for the last 45.
“The team was in control from the beginning and the substitutions were just a contribution but overall the team was completely in control.
“The game could and should have been easier because normally it’s easier against 10 men and we should have been playing against 10 men very early in the second half.
“But they fought, they played with their strength and they tried to create us problems, which they did sometimes.
“So, difficult match but overall a positive performance.”