Thanks to goals from Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham, it was Xabi Alonso's Real Madrid who earned the bragging rights from the most recent El Clasico. The match – the 261st of its kind – finished 2-1 to Los Blancos, meaning that Marcus Rashford's first taste of the well-watched fixture ended in defeat. But how did the Englishman play?
It took Mbappe until the 22nd minute to draw first blood in what was a heavily-anticipated match-up between two of world football's powerhouses. Fermin Lopez's side-footed shot levelled proceedings before Bellingham scored the match-winning goal just two minutes shy of the half-time interval.
It was a win that saw Alonso's side extend their lead at the top of La Liga to five points. Barca remain just behind on 22 points from 10 league outings – and it's a gap they'll be looking to close in the coming weeks and months. Rashford, who is on loan from Manchester United, will be among those looking to help out from an attacking perspective.
Watch the highlights from Real Madrid 2-1 Barcelona below:
rashford barcelona
Falling down the pecking order under Ruben Amorim in England was a bitter pill to swallow for Rashford, who spent the second half of the 2024/25 campaign on loan at Aston Villa. This season, it's Hansi Flick and Barcelona who are – albeit temporarily – enjoying his services. Rashford, however, wants to stay in Spain on a permanent basis.
When his loan spell comes to an end, Barca's decision-makers – including manager Flick and sporting director Deco – will have to choose whether to trigger the £26 million buy option in his move.
So far, he's proved to be a decent bit of business for the financially-strained La Liga side as the Carrington academy graduate, 27, now has five goals and seven assists in his opening 13 appearances; and his performance against Los Blancos, despite getting an assist, has certainly split the opinion of many.
Marcus Rashford vs Real Madrid
Minutes
Touches
Touches in Opp. Box
Goals/Assists
Total Shots
Chances Created
Successful Dribbles
Passes in Final Third
Overall Rating
All in all, the statistics show that he created a total of four chances despite being on the losing side – and he took 62 touches of the ball, three being inside Madrid's box. Only two of his five attempted dribbles (40%) were successful and his two shots, both of which were speculative, were blocked by a man in white.
The intangible aspects of his play were also impressive. He made countless runs, most of which were ignored by Fermin and Co, and floating off the left and coming inside allowed him to be free in transition. But what did the Spanish media make of his display?
marcus rashford barcelona
Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo did not mince their words when providing an assessment of the versatile forward's performance. "Baffling" is the word they used before taking a closer look at why things didn't click for Rashford, who was utilised by Flick on the left-hand side of the front line. He was later moved to the centre-forward berth.
"His smart assist to Fermin for 1-1 didn't fix a match in which he seemed capable of creating more danger than he did when he received the ball. He didn't make the most of his power when he had space. As a number 9, he was worse than as a winger."
Elsewhere, Diario AS were kinder towards the Old Trafford loanee. They wrote, "The Englishman had a good performance in his first Clasico. He set up Fermin to equalise and worked hard in the pressing. He ended up playing as a centre forward."
Next up for Rashford and his teammates, who are the reigning champions of Spain, face Elche at home before travelling to Belgium to face Club Brugge in the Champions League. Fixtures against Celta Vigo and Athletic Club follow before they visit Stamford Bridge in search of three more points at Europe's top table.
All statistics per FotMob – correct as of 27/10/2025