NEWCASTLE, England (AP) 鈥 Marcus Rashford was Plan B for Barcelona this summer.
Second-best looked pretty good after the on-loan Manchester United forward scored his first two goals for his new team on Thursday. That brace helped Barcelona start its Champions League campaign with .
And what a pair of goals they were.
Rashford broke the deadlock in the 58th minute when he floated to the penalty spot and used a powerful flick of his head to drive in a pass by Jules Kound茅.
He improved on that nine minutes later by latching onto a loose ball outside the area, skirting to his right to avoid defenders before blasting the ball over goalkeeper Nick Pope, off the underside of the crossbar and into the net.
鈥淚t is going good, I am learning a new way of football and it鈥檚 making me a better player,” Rashford said. 鈥淚t is an amazing experience to play for Barcelona and we want to win as much as possible. It is refreshing to play with these guys.鈥
England coach Thomas Tuchel was among the spectators at St. James Park who were momentarily silenced by Rashford’s second strike.
鈥淢arcus was spectacular,鈥 Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo said. 鈥淲e know what he can do because we see it in practice. We are happy he is with us and hope he can keep playing like this.”
Rashford on loan in July for this season only after the Spanish champions had been snubbed in their attempt to lure Spain winger Nico Williams from Athletic Bilbao.
He had once been considered among Europe鈥檚 top talents, but in recent years the 27-year-old had seen his career stall after falling out of favor at United and ending last season on loan at Aston Villa.
So there were doubts about his ability to significantly contribute to a team stacked with talent that had reached the Champions League semifinals last season and won a domestic double of La Liga and Copa del Rey.
Coach Hansi Flick gave Rashford the start at Newcastle with star forward Lamine Yamal out injured for a second straight game. Rashford had had minutes in all four of Barcelona鈥檚 Spanish league games, and been substituted at halftime of one of his two previous starts, without scoring.
After his goals on Thursday, Flick said that he was 鈥渘ot surprised鈥 by Rashford’s performance.
鈥淭his match, these two goals, here in England, in the first Champions League game, that is just great. That gives him confidence and shows what he can do,” Flick said.
鈥淗e is a great talent, with incredible skills and incredible finishing. (Barcelona sports director) Deco and I spoke before the season about how we needed a player like him.鈥
Rashford said the team is fully focused.
鈥淭he ambition is to win the Champions League, nothing else is on our minds,” he said. “It is going to be tough, we know that.鈥
___
AP soccer:
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Sign in or register for free to join the Conversation