Marcus Rashford scored his first goals for Barcelona on Thursday night to power the Catalan club to victory over Newcastle United in the UEFA Champions League.
Jules Kounde found the Manchester United loanee in acres of space in the penalty area with a perfectly placed cross, which the forward headed home with power in the 58th minute.
Nine minutes later Rashford scored an even more impressive goal, opening up space for himself before firing a dipping shot in off the crossbar to double their lead.
Anthony Gordon pulled one back late on, but sloppy play prevented them from creating clear openings to score an equaliser at St James’ Park.
Barcelona manager Hansi Flick was happy to start their Champions League campaign with a tough win away having begun last season’s with a defeat.
“It was a fantastic atmosphere,” he told TNT Sports. “We saw how Newcastle were playing with high intensity. It’s what we expected. We had the confidence and believed in our strengths.
“It’s very important to get three points from the beginning of the season. Last year we lost to Monaco. It helps us to get better and better.”
Rashford lauded as brilliant Barcelona brace downs Newcastle
Flick praised Rashford’s performance, emphasising that the brace can help the England international get back to his very best.
“We always see [this from Rashford] in training and we saw it today,” the German said. “I’m happy for him. In the offence we have a lot of good players and he’s one. I’m happy to have him. He gives us more options to follow the match. It’s great to have him.
“These two goals will help a lot to get Marcus to the next step. It’s so important he has the confidence and feels okay. These goals are unbelievable for him for the next steps.”
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