Marcus Rashford eyes Champions League success with Barcelona after Man Utd woes | OneFootball

Marcus Rashford is targeting Champions League glory with Barcelona after putting his Manchester United misery behind him.

The 27-year-old England international emerged from the depths of his Old Trafford exile to fire the Spanish club to a 2-1 victory over Newcastle in front of national boss Thomas Tuchel at St James’ Park on Thursday evening to underline his enduring quality.

Discarded by United boss Ruben Amorim, loan signing Rashford scored with a fine header and a rasping long-range drive to settle a pulsating encounter which got Barca’s latest bid for a sixth European title off to a winning start.

Asked afterwards if he was dreaming of winning the Champions League this season, he said: “For sure. I think everybody dreams of winning the Champions League, so now I’m with Barcelona, the dream is with Barcelona.

“I hope we can win the tournament, but there’s a lot of really good competition, so we have to take it game by game and just keep trying to push and trying to improve as a team.”

Rashford, a Europa League winner with United as a teenager, had not scored in his first four appearances for his new club when he arrived on Tyneside, but he remedied that situation with a 58th-minute header and then rifled home off the underside of the crossbar seven minutes later to double the dose.

He said: “I just saw a gap, I could see the far post. It’s more just the confidence to take the shot on.

“The technique is something I’ve been practising in training since I was a young boy so this is probably the easy bit. But it’s a great goal, so I’m very happy.

“It’s a very good team performance. Newcastle is a very, very difficult place to come to win, but also to play the kind of football that we train every day in the training ground, it’s very difficult to do this in Newcastle’s stadium so I’m really proud of the team.

“I’m proud to score my first goals for the club. We go on to the next game and I hope I can do it again.”

Barca head coach Hansi Flick was fulsome in his praise of the Englishman before the game and even more so afterwards, and Rashford admitted his relationship with the German has been key to his return to form.

He said: “He’s very important. I feel the confidence he’s giving me. I knew he was a top manager before I arrived here, but to work with him is a pleasure and I hope the good relationship will continue for the rest of the season.”

Both men will now turn their attention to Sunday’s LaLiga clash with Getafe and, beyond it, holders Paris St Germain’s visit to the Catalan capital next month.

What the future holds for Rashford, whose season-long loan deal includes an option to buy, remains to be seen, but asked how many years he would be staying, he replied with a smile: “As many as possible. We’ll see, but I just have to focus on trying to do my job and to help the team in whichever way I can.”

Meanwhile, Barca have confirmed that the clash with PSG on October 1 will take place at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium as the club await the necessary administrative permits for the opening of their revamped Nou Camp home.