Newcastle 1-2 Barcelona player ratings: Marcus Rashford makes his mark on return to England | OneFootball

Barcelona opened their Champions League campaign with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Newcastle United at St James’ Park. Here’s how each of their players fared against the Premier League side.

Player ratings

Joan Garcia – 7.5

Very dependable performance from Barcelona’s goalkeeper, who made a very important first half save from Harvey Barnes.

Jules Kounde – 7

Kounde looked much better than recent weeks, as he was preferred to Eric Garcia. For the most part, he dealt well with Newcastle’s attacks on his side.

Ronald Araujo – 7

There have been plenty of question marks about Araujo since that performance against Inter in Barcelona’s last Champions League outing, but he was very solid in this match.

Image via Clive Mason/Getty Images

Pau Cubarsi – 7

Likewise, Cubarsi fared very well, as he did not allow the ferocious atmosphere to intimidate him.

Gerard Martin – 6

Struggled throughout the first half to deal with the threat of Anthony Elanga, who was Newcastle’s most dangerous player on the night.

Frenkie de Jong – 7.5

Excellent performance from the returning de Jong. He struggled to get a foothold early on, but once he did, he was dominant.

Pedri – 7.5

Same as de Jong, another top performance from Barcelona’s number eight.

Raphinha – 6

Not his night. He was disappointing in attack, as he failed to fill the void vacated by Lamine Yamal.

Fermin Lopez – 6

Quiet night for Fermin, who did well in a defensive sense.

Marcus Rashford – 9

The star of the show. Outwith his two goals, he was by far Barcelona’s most threatening player, and he got his rewarded with two excellent finishes on his return to England.

Robert Lewandowski – 6

Another that struggled in attack, on what was his first start of the season.

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Substitutes

Andreas Christensen – 6

Solid enough during his 20-minute cameo.

Ferran Torres – 6

Did well at putting pressure on Newcastle’s defenders with his running.

Eric Garcia – 6

Beaten for Newcastle’s goal, which will have disappointed him.

Dani Olmo – 6

Had a shot saved late on by Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope.

Marc Casado – 6

Had little time to make an impact, although there was enough for him to earn a yellow card for stopping a promising Newcastle attack.