Marcus Rashford made his competitive debut for Barcelona as a second-half substitute in their 3-0 victory over Mallorca on Saturday night. The England international replaced Ferran Torres with the Catalan club already leading 2-0 against a nine-man opposition.
Barcelona started their La Liga title defence in commanding fashion with goals from Raphinha, Torres and Lamine Yamal. Mallorca was reduced to nine men before halftime after receiving two red cards within six minutes.
Flick's harsh criticism despite victory
Head coach Hansi Flick expressed strong displeasure with his team's performance despite the comfortable scoreline. "I didn't like the match," he said after the game.
"These are three important points, but after going 2-0 up and with the two red cards, I think my team played at 50 per cent. That can't happen," Flick continued. "I need to talk to the players about this. You can't play at 50 per cent against nine players, that's not what I expect."
The German manager concluded: "This is not acceptable." He showed understanding for Rashford's limited impact, explaining: "Rashford didn't have the chance to play more freely because Mallorca was crowded at the back. Also, the team played with less intensity, and I wasn't happy about that."
United players show support
Manchester United players demonstrated solidarity with their former teammate through social media engagement. Diogo Dalot, Joe Hugill, Joshua Zirkzee, Rasmus Hojlund and Tyrell Malacia all liked Rashford's Instagram post celebrating the victory.
Former United stars also showed their support, including Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Brandon Williams, Donny van de Beek, Jesse Lingard, Patrice Evra and Shola Shoretire. Rashford had shared images from the match with the caption "Best way to start" and "Vamos equipo" (Let's go team).
New Barcelona teammate Ronald Araujo commented on the post with supportive emojis. The Daily Star reports that upcoming fixtures against Levante and Rayo Vallecano could provide Rashford with more opportunities, particularly with uncertainty over Robert Lewandowski's fitness.
Sources used: "Manchester Evening News", "Daily Star" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
