Former England defender Stuart Pearce has slammed Marcus Rashford for his performance in Manchester United’s 4-3 defeat to Bayern Munich.

Erik ten Hag’s side came out second best in their seven-goal thriller on Wednesday night, as the hosts took all three points from their Champions League opener.

And, during the match, Pearce took aim at Rashford for his off-the-ball tracking during the match at the Allianz Arena.

‘United are under the cosh because too many of their players have jacked it in. Rashford half running back and Casemiro half running back,’ Pearce explained.

Marcus Rashford was unable to prevent Manchester United’s 4-3 loss to Bayern Munich

Former England defender and talkSPORT pundit Stuart Pearce (pictured in August 2022) took aim at Rashford during the match

Pearce complained about Rashford’s off-the-ball contribution in United’s defensive work

‘I’m not sure what Onana said when he has a rant at Maguire in the summer but now is the time to have a rant at the back line, not just the back line but the whole team.’

‘Too many players who have given up the ghost and that is alarming. United are so off the pace and they are lucky that Bayern have not been more clinical.’

The Red Devils found themselves 2-0 down at half-time, after goals from Leroy Sane and Serge Gnabry, before Harry Kane and Mathys Tel sealed the win later on.

United did fire back multiple times through Rasmus Hojlund and Casemiro but it wasn’t enough to earn a point in Munich. 

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‘Too wide open, too regularly. Their goal to come back to 3-2 was a false dawn. They conceded four and that’s what they deserved,’ Pearce continued.

‘As silly as it sounds, the score flatters United. What concerns me is that United almost stopped trying for about 15 minutes – even though they scored in that time’.

It was relatively quiet evening for Rashford, who failed to pose a real threat to the Bayern Munich defence throughout the encounter.

Rashford (middle) failed to pose a serious threat against the Bundesliga champions

On the other hand, Rashford’s national team-mate Harry Kane did manage to score in the game

Despite Pearce’s complaints, fans and pundits were quick to point the finger at goalkeeper Andre Onana following his role in Bayern’s opening goal.

The summer signing was beaten by Sane from long-range after he allowed the German’s shot to wriggle under him and into the back of the net. 

Former Man United and Bayern Munich midfielder Hargreaves, speaking on TNT Sports, was shocked by Onana’s error for the opening goal.

‘You just have to save that. I don’t know if he doesn’t get his feet set, but that ball just cannot go in. He knows straight away Onana,’ Hargreaves said.