Micah Richards believes Manchester United's lack of midfield creativity is hindering striker Marcus Rashford.

The Red Devils striker scored his 17th goal of the season in the 3-1 home defeat by Manchester City on Tuesday night.

But former Blues defender Richards says Rashford would be prolific playing with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez.

Marcus Rashford scored his 17th goal of the season in the 3-1 defeat by Manchester City

Micah Richards (above) believes striker Rashford would flourish at rivals Manchester City

He told Sky Sports: ‘I feel a bit sorry for Rashford because if he was in City’s team he would get 40 goals a season. Obviously on the counter with (Anthony) Martial, (Daniel) James, (Jesse) Lingard they look good.

‘Sometimes the counter-attack is not on. Look at their (City’s) midfield compared to United’s, that is no disrespect but (Kevin) De Bruyne’s first option is a forward pass.

‘When I see United play it is always a little too safe, it is “I don’t want to make a mistake today”. Look at City’s midfielders, their first option is to play forward.’

Rodri lost possession and Rashford ran on and stroked a shot across goalkeeper Claudio Bravo

Rashford's strike kept their Carabao Cup hopes alive after Manchester City had threatened to end their Wembley dreams in the first leg of their semi-final.

Pep Guardiola's defending champions were coasting at 3-0 with 20 minutes to go thanks to Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez and an Andreas Pereira own goal after embarrassing their hosts with a dominant display at Old Trafford.

However, one lapse allowed Rashford to score the goal which made it 3-1 to give them a chance in three weeks' time, having won at the Etihad barely a month ago in the league.