Marcus Rashford has become something of a national hero in Britain because of his campaigning for free school meals for poor students.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
At Old Trafford on Tuesday, the Manchester United star was the beneficiary of a charitable gesture by a teammate.
Bruno Fernandes had already scored two early goals against Istanbul Basaksehir in the Champions League when he was given the chance to complete a hat-trick - his first for United - from the penalty spot following a foul on Rashford.
Instead, Fernandes handed over spot-kick duties to Rashford, who duly converted to set United on their way to a 4-1 win. The Portugal international, it seems, is a man of his word.
"Of course every player wants to do a hat-trick," Fernandes said, "but after the (last) game in the Premier League, I told Rashy the next one he will take and so I remembered that."
Fernandes said he also wanted Rashford to improve his chances of being the leading scorer in the competition this season. He is now on five goals in the group stage, after a late winner against Paris Saint-Germain and a hat trick against Leipzig.
"Rashy is one of the top scorers in the Champions League so I think it will be important there for confidence," Fernandes said. "But it doesn't matter who takes the penalties, most important is the team scores."
United were never in danger of being upset a second time by the Turkish champions, who earned a surprise 2-1 win over the English club in Istanbul three weeks ago for a result that threw Group H wide open.
By taking a measure of revenge, United regained control of the group by moving onto nine points - three more than both PSG and Leipzig, who also played Tuesday, with PSG winning 1-0 at home.
United are at home to PSG next week, with the two qualifying places from the group still up for grabs. The English team will qualify avoiding defeat, having already beaten PSG away.
"It's a good position," Fernandes said, "but we can't relax."
Since his debut for United following his January move from Sporting Lisbon, Fernandes has scored 21 goals and made 13 assists in 35 appearances.
The Portugal playmaker has nine goals from his last 11 games.
Australian Associated Press
