Marcus Rashford has every reason to smile
Marcus Rashford, King of Tyneside. The English striker marked his Champions League bow in Barça colours with a brace at St James’ Park. A night of celebration wrapped in milestones and stats that only the very best can reach. Two goals of real quality, the sort you’d happily frame in the British Museum.
New name on the list
On the eve of the clash, Hansi Flick put his full faith in Rashford. Wearing the No.14, the Mancunian paid him back in spades, netting twice to fire Barça to three points on English soil. Far from shrinking on his European debut for the Catalans, Rashford rose to the occasion, a prophet in his own land. He opened the scoring with a towering header past Pope, and the best was still to come.
On 66 minutes, the England international struck again. A drop of the shoulder at the edge of the box, a thunderous drive, and in it went via the underside of the bar. A rocket of a strike to seal his double and crown a dream debut in the Champions League. That puts him alongside Begiristain, Tello, Lewandowski and João Félix – the only other Barça players to have scored more than once on their European debut for the team. Txiki set the trend in 1993 against Monaco, Tello followed in 2012 versus Leverkusen, Lewy hit a hat-trick in 2022 against Viktoria Plzen, and João Félix did it last year against Antwerp.
But Rashford stands apart. He’s the first Barça player to score a Champions League brace on his debut away from home. Begiristain, Tello and Lewy all did it at Camp Nou, Félix at Montjuïc.
From Lineker to Rashford
Once again, Barça’s new Englishman follows in the footsteps of Gary Lineker. The Leicester icon of the 80s was the last Englishman to score for Barça, racking up 59 goals in total, his final strike coming in April 1989 in a Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final. Thirty-six years on, Rashford has brought the British accent back to Barça’s goals.
Another select club
And there’s more. Before Rashford’s brace, Steve McManaman was the only Englishman to have scored a Champions League double for a Liga club. Rashford has now joined that rare group... and this is just the beginning of his Barça adventure.