Jose Mourinho taught Manchester United players to be more "savvy" to win penalties - Marcus Rashford

Much has been made of Manchester United's recent explosive form in the Premier League and perhaps the biggest talking point has been the number of penalties they have won this season.

United, who sit on the top of the Premier League table with 36 points, have been awarded six penalties in the league so far this season.

Their centre-forward Marcus Rashford recently revealed that a vast majority of the Manchester team that played under Jose Mourinho learned from the Portuguese manager to be 'savvy' to win penalties.

"I remember when Jose was manager, there were five or six times where I should have had a penalty and Jose ended up saying to me: 'If you are not savvy about the way you do it, then you are not going to get given it," said Rashford. "After that, we started to get a few penalties. It was something in terms of development you have to learn that and understand it."

"If we finish second or third, it is not going to be a good season for us, it is not what we set out to try to do at the beginning of the year," Rashford on title chances, penalties and Liverpool 👇 #LIVMUN https://t.co/szp4dScuH6

— Charlotte Duncker (@CharDuncker) January 15, 2021

Rashford played down the outrage from rival fans and teams about the penalties awarded to Manchester United, claiming that it comes down to a desire to score goals more than anything else.

"As a forward line, we want to go and score goals, when you are making runs in behind or dribbling with the ball and if you see a challenge coming, you don't want to get tackled because you are looking at an opportunity to score a goal," said the English forward

"There is no way you are going to let somebody take the ball off you, so, for me, it is just a case of us wanting to score goals and the teams wanting to defend goals and penalties can happen. There have been times when we have probably not got penalties."

Leicester City have won more penalties than Manchester United in the 2020/21 season so far

Paul Pogba wins a penalty during Manchester United's 2-1 win over Aston Villa

The debate about the penalties awarded to Manchester United has been ongoing for some time. However, it exploded earlier this month, after Jurgen Klopp claimed the Red Devils have earned more penalties in the last two seasons than Liverpool have in his entire time in England.

Klopp's Liverpool have been awarded 46 penalties since he has been at the helm, 21 less than Manchester United's 67 in the same period. However, the Red Devils are have not won the most penalties in the league this season,with Leicester City getting 10 spot kicks.

All eyes on Sunday 👊#MUFC #LIVMUN pic.twitter.com/O7HrB7Z9l8

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 14, 2021

The penalty awards and the debatable VAR calls that have been involved in Manchester United's matches this season mean that the debate will not end anytime soon.

Klopp's comments and the ongoing tussle at the top of the table make for a highly-anticipated encounter on Sunday, as the teams reignite their long-standing rivalry for the 58th time in the Premier League.