Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford was back in England for Barcelona’s Champions League clash against Chelsea with Hansi Flick sending a clear message before their 3-0 defeat
Marcus Rashford couldn’t help Barcelona as they were thrashed by Chelsea(Image: (Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images))
Hansi Flick revealed the form of Ferran Torres was one of the reasons why Marcus Rashford was on the Barcelona bench for their Champions League clash against Chelsea. The Manchester United loannee was absent for their La Liga win over Athletic Club this past weekend because of illness with that also playing a part in Flick’s decision.
Even without Rashford, Barca strode to victory back at the Camp Nou for the first time in a few years by scoring four goals while also keeping a clean sheet.
Torres grabbed a brace in that game and Flick therefore rewarded him for that by naming him in the starting XI for their trip to Stamford Bridge
Flick, as quoted by Mundo Deportivo, said: “Ferran scored two goals on Saturday, and Marcus had been out for three or four days due to his injury, but he’s ready to play at any moment.”
That latter phrase was confirmed by Flick at half-time with Rashford coming on for Torres, who had missed a great opportunity in the first half, before things unravelled for his side. A Jules Kounde own goal and Ronald Araujo red card saw Barcelona a man and goal down at the interval.
Rashford struggled to get into the game with Chelsea able to extend their lead through a dazzling Estevao Willian strike and clinical Liam Delap finish.
The 28-year-old is unlikely to be judged for his display in west London given the challenging circumstances with Flick a big fan of Rashford as he made perfectly clear when asked about his return to the fold.
He said: “I’m really very happy [he is back]. We will decide tomorrow [Tuesday] if he plays from the beginning or if he comes in from the bench. But as I said, I’m happy to have him in our team.
“Last time when we played Newcastle, I also said this. I have followed him, I think, his whole career. I was impressed about him, with his quality, what he is doing in the box, what he is doing in front of goal.
Marcus Rashford couldn’t help Barcelona as they were thrashed by Chelsea(Image: (Photo by Javier Garcia/Shutterstock))
“He has also showed it in Barcelona, which is really good. But for him, this change to live in another culture. The people in Barcelona are fantastic, we have nice weather. For me, it’s amazing.
“You can see now he is also smiling a lot, and if he can enjoy the atmosphere we have, it is also good for him.”
The decision to sign him permanently from United is unlikely to be made by Flick but 13 goal contributions this season shows he is putting himself in a great position to have the £26million buy-option in his loan switch activated.
Ruben Amorim could certainly do with Rashford at the moment after his side failed to score against 10-man Everton on Monday evening.
Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko missed the game through injury with the latter set to miss the next few weeks. Bryan Mbeumo will also be absent for a period across the New Year as he competes in AFCON for Cameroon.