Heading into the Chelsea game, there was a lot of excitement surrounding on-loan Barcelona Marcus Rashford, who knew the turf well, while the Blues were one of his favourite opponents.
However, the Englishman had to start on the bench, and while he did come on as a second-half substitute, the game had already died thanks to Ronald Araujo’s red card in the first half.
Barcelona ended up losing 3-0 at Stamford Bridge, leaving Rashford disappointed. But the Englishman hasn’t lost hope.
What Rashford said after loss to Chelsea
Speaking to CBS Sports (h/t SPORT) after the loss to Chelsea, Rashford admitted that it was a tough night and that Chelsea deserved credit for utilising Barcelona’s weaknesses well.
“It’s a tough night. They are a very good, young, and fresh team. With one less player, it’s easy to say the game becomes difficult.
“But they also did everything right with the ball: they took full advantage of the extra man and made it difficult for us both to get into their area and to defend,” he said.
The Englishman added that Barcelona got stuck between two scenarios after the red card.
“Either we stayed compact, and the rhythm of the game died, or we tried to jump into a high press and left spaces. If the opponent is sharp on the ball, they take advantage of those spaces,” he added.
Going forward, Rashford admitted Barcelona must be on their toes in the remaining Champions League matches and win all of them if they are to secure a berth in the quarterfinal stage.
Marcus Rashford of FC Barcelona
Rashford believes the red card cost Barcelona against Chelsea. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
“The decisive factor is clear. They deserved the victory. Now, for us, there is no room for error. We have to win the remaining Champions League matches,” he said.
Rashford also acknowledged that Barcelona were unable to create enough chances either, especially in the second half where even the Englishman looked toothless going forward.
“Today it was very difficult to get in front of their goal. Even creating clear chances was an uphill battle. They deserved the win and we have to give them credit,” he added.
Rashford, though, refused to overanalyse the game and claimed that Barcelona already know what went wrong against Chelsea.
“When you lose, it’s always easy to say that everything has to change, but there were phases where we were compact as a team and stuck to our game plan. We can’t overthink this match. We know what went wrong,” he said.
Finally, the Englishman said it is important for Barcelona to win upcoming matches, staring with this weekend’s clash against Alaves.
“We have to improve and get back to the level we’ve shown at other times this season. The first opportunity is this weekend. We’re going to try to win that game,” he concluded.