Barcelona's Champions League campaign suffered a setback on Tuesday night as they were comprehensively beaten 3-0 by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Goals from Estevao and Liam Delap, plus a Jules Kounde own goal, sealed the dominant victory, while Barcelona's night was compounded by a red card for defender Ronald Araujo.
Marcus Rashford, on loan from Manchester United, was named among the substitutes after missing the previous match against Athletic Club through illness. He was introduced in the second half, but by then Barcelona were trailing and reduced to ten men, making it difficult for the England international to influence proceedings.
The Spanish press had little to say about Rashford's outing, with few comments on his performance. The 28-year-old struggled to make his mark in a game that quickly slipped away from the Catalan giants.
Barcelona manager Hansi Flick had expressed his delight at having Rashford available, stating: 'I'm really very happy he is back. I have followed him 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.' Flick also noted the positive impact of the change in culture on Rashford, adding: 'You can see now he is also smiling a lot.'
Rashford's loan deal includes a £26million purchase clause, and after an impressive start to the season, Barcelona are expected to make the transfer permanent. The forward has shown flashes of his quality in Spain, but this outing will be one he will want to forget quickly.
