Marcus Rashford was surprisingly left out of Barcelona's starting line-up for their La Liga clash against Getafe on Sunday, with manager Hansi Flick citing the forward's late arrival to training on match day as the reason. According to reports, Flick has a strict policy of not selecting players to start matches if they are late to training or a meeting, a rule that has previously affected Raphinha, Jules Kounde, and Inaki Pena.
Rashford, who had scored twice in the Champions League victory over Newcastle days earlier, was relegated to the bench. He was introduced at half-time with Barcelona already leading 2-0, and responded positively by setting up Dani Olmo for a goal just 17 minutes later. Flick's disciplinary approach mirrors a similar incident last week when Raphinha was dropped against Valencia but came on to score twice.
This is not the first time Rashford has faced disciplinary issues. In January 2024, he was dropped from the Manchester United squad by Erik ten Hag after a night out in Belfast caused him to miss training. Earlier, in the 2022/23 season, he was late ahead of a match against Wolves, and under Ruben Amorim last season, he was left out of the Manchester derby alongside Alejandro Garnacho.
Despite the benching, Rashford's form in Spain has been impressive, with two goals and two assists in his previous three outings. Reflecting on his move to Barcelona after the Newcastle win, he praised Flick, saying: 'He's a top man, top coach and he'll be delighted with not just the three points but the way we won.' Barcelona next face Real Oviedo on Thursday before hosting Real Sociedad on Sunday.
