Marcus Rashford is thriving at Barcelona and Hansi Flick has been speaking about why the Manchester United loanee has settled so quickly in Spain following his summer move
Marcus Rashford celebrating for Barcelona
Marcus Rashford is loving life as a Barcelona player(Image: Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
View 2 Images
Marcus Rashford is benefitting from the 'atmosphere' at Barcelona and a new style of play following his loan move from Manchester United in the summer, according to new boss Hansi Flick.
The forward has enjoyed a promising start to life at Camp Nou and has provided six goals and nine assists in 16 matches for the Catalan giants. The England international has been particularly potent in the Champions League, scoring four goals and adding two assists in the competition.
Rashford's return to British shores comes in Europe's premier tournament, with Barca making the trip to west London to face Chelsea. The 28-year-old's situation is a far cry from what started developing 12 months ago, when the United academy product found himself struggling to gel with new boss Ruben Amorim.
Rashford was soon left outside of matchday squads and looking for a new club before landing his dream move to Barca.
And Flick believes Barcelona have fostered a perfect environment and system in which Rashford can thrive - unlike his previous club. The German coach also confirmed Rashford is fit to play against Chelsea after a bout of flu. ”I’m very happy for Marcus," said Flick.
"He’s back from a cold and he’s fine; I’ll decide tomorrow whether he starts or comes off the bench. But I’m happy to have him in the team, playing for Barca.
“I’ve followed him throughout his career and I’ve always been impressed by his quality and what he’s capable of in the box, and he’s showing that in Barcelona. This change for him, in a new style of football, in Barcelona, with the great weather…
Marcus Rashford has been in superb form since joining Barcelona on loan from Manchester United
Marcus Rashford returns from injury to face Chelsea(Image: (Photo by Rene Nijhuis/MB Media/Getty Images))
View 2 Images
"For me, it’s incredible to see how he’s always smiling. It’s the atmosphere we have here, and it’s very good for him."
Flick was also forced to defend Barcelona's role in recent injuries. Problems are said to have been faced by a series of players, including Raphinha, Lamine Yamal, Gavi and Alejandro Balde.
“I don’t read much, but I have read about the injuries that have come out," said Flick. What I can say is that I’m not angry with our medical staff; we have a fantastic staff with a lot of experience. Regarding Raphinha, in this situation we’ve made mistakes, we all make them, but that’s normal, it’s human. Even so, we trust everyone on our staff. The rest is just noise.
“Step by step with Rafa. For me, the important thing is that he’s back. We’ll decide on the minutes and how much he’ll play later. He’s suffered an injury twice, and that’s not good at this stage, so we’ll be careful. I’m very happy he’s back because, as soon as he played on Saturday, we saw the difference: his dynamism, he created space, and I’m very happy to have him back.”
Content Image
Content Image