Rashford impresses with first goals for Barcelona as Tuchel watches
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NEWCASTLE, England (AP) — 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 a 2-1 win at Newcastle.
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 Koundé.
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.
“It is going good, I am learning a new way of football and it’s making me a better player,” Rashford said. “It 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.”
England coach Thomas Tuchel was among the spectators at St. James Park who were momentarily silenced by Rashford’s second strike.
“Marcus was spectacular,” Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo said. “We 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 joined Barcelona 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’s 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’s 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 “not surprised” by Rashford’s performance.
“This 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.
“He 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.”
Rashford said the team is fully focused.
“The ambition is to win the Champions League, nothing else is on our minds,” he said. “It is going to be tough, we know that.”
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer