Marcus Rashford debut: ‘Unacceptable’ Barcelona stars slammed by boss – ‘I am not happy’

Marcus Rashford made his debut for Barcelona on Saturday as the Spanish champions beat Mallorca 3-0 away from home, but the result wasn’t enough to satisfy Hansi Flick

Marcus Rashford and his new Barcelona team-mates got an early taste of Hansi Flick’s wrath despite making a winning start to the season. Rashford, 27, made his competitive debut for Barca on Saturday as they beat Mallorca 3-0 away from home.

On the surface, it looked like a perfect beginning to their La Liga title defence. Mallorca, though, had been reduced to nine men before half-time, with Barcelona already 2-0 up when two home players were dismissed in a chaotic six-minute spell.

Barca looked on course to enjoy an opening-day rout but only added one more goal – a trademark stunner from Lamine Yamal in the last minute of stoppage time. Despite the comprehensive victory, Flick was furious with his players for taking their foot off the gas, especially in the second half.

It was during the second period when Rashford made his debut, with the Manchester United loanee having started on the bench after finally being registered by Barcelona on Friday. Rashford replaced Ferran Torres, who’d scored the visitors’ second goal.

The England international saw little sight of goal and returned to the dressing room to face an angry Flick. In his post-match press conference, the German labelled Barca’s second-half performance ‘unacceptable’.

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“I didn’t like the match,” Flick fumed. “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. 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.” Flick added: “This is not acceptable.”

The Barcelona manager had sympathy for Rashford and blamed his lack of chances on team-mates playing with ‘less intensity’. “Rashford didn’t have the chance to play more freely because Mallorca was crowded at the back,” Flick explained. “Also the team played with less intensity, and I wasn’t happy about that.”

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Barca are on the road again next Saturday, facing newly-promoted Levante. Rashford could be handed his first start by Flick, as it’s unclear when striker Robert Lewandowski will return from injury.

Continuing on their travels due to the Camp Nou not being ready to host matches, the Spanish champions play Rayo Vallecano in their final game before the international break. Rashford will hope to have done enough to impress England manager Thomas Tuchel and feature in their World Cup qualifying double-header against Andorra and Serbia.

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