Barcelona secured a vital win on their opening night of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League with a 2-1 victory at Newcastle United.
Ahead of the trip to Tyneside, Hansi Flick warned his players to expect a tense atmosphere at St. James’ Park with the home crowd roaring on Eddie Howe’s hosts.
The Magpies took the game to Barcelona early on, with the La Blaugrana back line forced into several errors, with Joan Garcia producing a superb stop to deny Harvey Barnes.
However, the game turned on two moments of magic after the restart, as Marcus Rashford scored his first two goals since joining on loan from Manchester United this summer.
The England international steered a firm header past Nick Pope before lashing home what proved to be a brilliant winner to send the travelling Barcelona fans high up in the stands wild.
Rashford’s England teammate Anthony Gordon netted a late consolation for the Premier League side and the winger revealed why Newcastle were eventually overpowered by Barcelona on the night.
“To be honest, we are not used to playing against players who keep the ball like this. Yes, we have faced Chelsea and Manchester City before, but they were never like that,” as per Mundo Deportivo.
“They were the best I have played against in that sense.
“On his day, Marcus Rashford is one of the best in the world.”
Up next for Barcelona is a La Liga home tie against Getafe on September 21 with the clash being played at the Estadi Johan Cruyff as their Camp Nou return remains unclear at this stage.
There next UCL outing comes at home to defending champions PSG on October 1 with the club and UEFA set for talks in the coming days to decide once and for all if European games can be played at the Camp Nou before the end of 2025.
