Marcus Rashford has now played twice in La Liga for Barcelona following his loan move from Manchester United in the summer. Despite his side winning both games, he has not quite had the impact he would have hoped.
The 27-year-old came off the bench and played 22 minutes during the 3-0 away win over Mallorca on the opening round of fixtures, but struggled to make much of an impact. Spanish media aptly summed things up, calling it an 'uneventful debut'.
The following weekend, however, Rashford was handed his full debut as he started his first competitive game for Barcelona. Once more, though, he struggled to have the desired impact.
Against Levante, Barca found themselves 2-0 down before half-time. As such, manager Hansi Flick felt changes needed to be made. Unfortunately for the Englishman, that meant his game was cut short as he was hooked at the break for Dani Olmo.
Rashford Reacts to Half-Time Subbing
Rashford
The decision paid off as Barcelona fought back to ultimately win the game 3-2, but it must have been hard for Rashford to take. If it did sting a little bit, the player hid his emotions well as he took to social media to praise the team effort after the game, simply writing:
"Team spirit."
While some have questioned Rashford's attitude during his time at Man United, this simple post of support for his teammates shows that he's certainly committed to making things work at Barcelona. It would have been easy to sulk in such a situation, but the winger appears to have accepted the decision in good faith.
It should also be noted that he wasn't necessarily poor against Levante. Indeed, the local press were generally positive on his efforts, even if he didn't necessarily have a game to remember. One outlet remarked: "Had a few promising moments, but was one of the first players to be substituted."
Another wrote: "After a bright and bustling first start as a Barcelona player in La Liga, he did not have the impacted expected, and faded as the game wore on."
Flick explained the decision to hook the player at half-time, using it as an opportunity to talk positively about Rashford. He said, “Marcus has a few chances in the first half and showed he can help us.
“In the second half, we needed to make changes, and we put Raphinha on the wing. I think they were the right changes to make. The first goal after the break changed the game.”
It's early days yet, and it makes sense that Rashford will take time to settle into his new environment. Even so, he'll hope to make a big impact in his next outing.