Marcus Rashford overcomes Barcelona ‘humiliation’ to score first goal since Man Utd transfer

Marcus Rashford did not have the best of starts at Barcelona but has now netted his first goal for the club as he looks to move on from Manchester United in style.

Rashford was frozen out at Man Utd by Ruben Amorim in January and subsequently joined Aston Villa on a six-month loan. Villa had the option to sign him permanently for £40million (€46m) but that did not happen.

Rashford was once again put on the market earlier this summer, which saw Barcelona come calling. Barca had registered their interest in the forward in January but had decided against engineering a deal.

After missing out on other left wingers such as Athletic Club’s Nico Williams and Luis Diaz, who recently joined Bayern Munich from Liverpool, Barca ramped up their pursuit of Rashford.

He has moved to the Camp Nou on a season-long loan which includes an option for Barca to buy worth €30m (£26m).

Rashford made his first appearance for the Blaugrana during their 3-1 win over Vissel Kobe on July 27. However, he only played for 30 minutes after coming off the bench before taken back off by manager Hansi Flick.

The Mirror described this as ‘the biggest humiliation in football’, even though Flick explained that he was easing Rashford in to avoid the England ace from getting injured.

Things have started to look up for Rashford since then, as he got his first Barca assist during their 7-3 thrashing of FC Seoul on Thursday and managed his first goal earlier on Monday.

After previously operating at left wing for Barca, the 27-year-old replaced Robert Lewandowski up front at half time and went on to score his side’s fifth and final goal against Daegu.

He smashed into the bottom corner on his right foot from 14 yards out after being set up by Eric Garcia.

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Hansi Flick analysing Marcus Rashford versatility

When asked about his decision to select Rashford at No 9, Flick told reporters: “He can play at No 9 or No 11. We changed it because we had to be careful with Ferran [Torres].

“We wanted to see how he adapted to the position.”

Over the weekend, Rashford was asked about the possibility Barca might not be able to register him with LaLiga, like what happened to Dani Olmo last season. He replied: “I’m not worried. It’s something the club needs to resolve, and I trust they will. I’m focused on training and being ready for the start of the competition.”

On potentially leaving United permanently to join Barca, Rashford said he is not thinking about this and wants to ‘enjoy the moment’.

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Previous reports have revealed what Lewandowski thinks about Rashford’s arrival in Catalonia.

While Yamal is allegedly ‘angry’ about the transfer, feeling Barca gave up on their top targets too quickly.

It has been suggested Barca rejected the opportunity to land a Dutch talent when taking Rashford to Spain.

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