NEWCASTLE, England — Barcelona coach Hansi Flick challenged Marcus Rashford to prove himself back in England with the forward in line to start Thursday’s Champions League opener against Newcastle United.
Lamine Yamal has been ruled out of the game with a groin injury, paving the way for Rashford to start on the left at St. James’ Park, with Raphinha shifting to the right.
It would be a second successive start for Rashford, who also played from the off against Valencia last weekend, setting up a goal in the 6-0 win.
“We know Lamine is not playing tomorrow, maybe not on Sunday [against Getafe], but we have a strong team,” Flick said in a news conference on Wednesday.
“Also in this position, we have Marcus Rashford in our team and [he was signed for] if someone from the front maybe cannot play, he can play and he showed it also on Sunday. I hope he can show in England the same performance he did on Sunday [against Valencia].”
Rashford joined Barça from Manchester United on loan in the summer and has featured in all four LaLiga matches so far this season, starting two.
He has yet to open his account for the Spanish champions, but Flick is happy with how he has settled in so far.
“I have followed Marcus since he started at Manchester United,” he said. “I always said the kind of player he is was really unbelievable.
“He has speed, but also in one vs. one situations is really fantastic. And also finishing. What I saw in the first weeks here is really good.
“He also has more potential he can show us. He wants to do this, of course. For me, it’s great to have him on my team.”
Rashford has a good record against Newcastle, scoring nine goals in 15 previous meetings, but he is one of few players in the Barça squad to have faced them.
It’s over 20 years since the two teams met competitively, but Flick says he’s well aware of the atmosphere and challenge which awaits his team in England.
“I have never been here in the stadium but what I heard is it’s one of the best, maybe the best atmosphere here in the Premier League,” the German coach said.
“I expect a strong Newcastle side, a tall team, with high intensity, second balls, vertically they are really good.
“It’s a team built over the last years. Eddie Howe and his staff made a fantastic job.”
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There are expectations that Barça, beaten semifinalists last year, can go one step better this year.
They have not won the competition since 2015 but defender Andreas Christensen said the players are hungry to take that next step and embracing the pressure.
“There’s always going be pressure when we play, it’s good to have it,” Christensen said. “We put a lot of pressure on ourselves and we want to get back to the situation of last season; take a step further.
“There’s hunger, we really want to get back and have the upside of getting there [to a final]. Maybe we add more pressure to ourselves, but from the outside there is always pressure because of the quality we’ve shown last season. It’s a great opportunity.”