Marcus Rashford was forced to return to Manchester United after failing to secure a permanent move to Barcelona, and one of his former team-mates at the Camp Nou has been speaking about him
Marcus Rashford
Marcus Rashford is back at Manchester United(Image: Getty Images)
View 2 Images
Barcelona star Lamine Yamal claims that Marcus Rashford did not understand the demands of a Clasico showdown with Real Madrid. The forward joined the Spanish side on loan last season, having fallen out of favour at Old Trafford.
He made 49 appearances for Barcelona throughout his spell with Barca, scoring 14 goals. The Catalans had the option to make the deal permanent but opted not to, instead signing Rashford’s England colleague Anthony Gordon.
Yamal has now claimed that Rashford didn't approach his first El Clasico fixture the right way, albeit he soon got to grips with the derby. Speaking to Movistar, Yamal said: “Rashford’s first Clasico, which we lost 2-1 at the Bernabeu, I saw him play and thought, 'he still doesn’t know what a Clasico is'.
“Then in the second leg, he realised what a Clasico was all about, scoring a free-kick and playing with a completely different intensity.
Get YOUR Mirror Football Newsletter
Get our comprehensive football coverage, with news, updates, opinions, analysis and everything that matters to you, straight to your inbox.
To get it, it's a quick and easy one-two:
“When you come from La Masia, from your very first Clasico, you know what it’s all about and you know that match is a battle.”
After failing to seal a permanent move away from United, Rashford returned to play a part in the side under Michael Carrick. Since then, he has made five appearances for his boyhood club but has yet to score a goal.
The club’s first full season under Carrick is not quite going to plan, the side having only won one Premier League game, while they were also booted out of the Carabao Cup by Brighton.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s clash with Fulham at Craven Cottage, the United boss said: “We're always learning. As a group, individually, as a collective, I think we're always learning. At some point in time, when you're trying to build towards something, it's not always going perfect and it's not always going to plan.
Marcus Rashford
Marcus Rashford soon realised the demands of El Clasico(Image: Getty Images)
View 2 Images
“Well, I know history tells you, any team that has been successful goes through periods where you've got work from it, got to come through it, you've got to improve. We've had a small period now, over this recent time, it hasn't been exactly what we wanted it to be.
“I was expecting the point at some stage, where we'd go through it. It was going to come. We had such a good spell last season, and going into this season, whether it was going to be now or at some point during the season, there was going to be a time where you don't get everything out of it what you wanted.
“It's how you work through it, how you react, staying focused, keep doing the right things and staying as level as best as you can. And you come through, you keep believing you'll come through. We fully believe that. It's one of those spells and it's a week or two really, where results haven't gone our way and tiny margins in a couple of those games as well.
“That 95th-minute goal [against Everton], the goal that shouldn't have been [against Manchester City]. All of a sudden, not for me but you can feel it's a lot bigger than it actually is. We'll work through it.
“Winning games is always the answer, it's the answer to a lot of things. It can cover up a lot of things sometimes as well, by winning games, people don't see the whole picture, so it works both ways.”