Marcus Rashford embarrassed Raphinha with dazzling skill before Man Utd goal
Marcus Rashford was the star of the show as Man Utd drew 2-2 at Barcelona in the Europa League, scoring one goal and creating another with a fine piece of skill.
After a goalless first half, United fell behind when Marcos Alonso rose highest to meet a Raphinha corner. It was all-square within minutes, though, as England forward Rashford broke free and drilled a low shot beyond Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
The best was yet to come, with United’s number 10 destroying Raphinha down by the corner flag to lay on his team’s second goal, with the unfortunate Jules Kounde turning into his own net. Former Leeds man Raphinha had the last word, though, delivering a late equaliser to leave the two-legged tie tightly poised at the halfway mark.
Rashford first collects a short corner from Luke Shaw, before sizing up Raphinha as Shaw offers for a return. There doesn’t appear to be a lot of space in behind the former Leeds man, but Rashford finds it.
The burst of pace gets the academy graduate to the byline, from where he drills in a low ball. There is an element of good fortune when Bruno Fernandes meets the cross with a flick which goes in off Kounde, but the goal wouldn’t have been possible without lightning-quick feet from Rashford.
We saw more of the same a few minutes later, with Kounde the victim this time. The French defender appeared to bring down the forward on the edge of the box, leaving United boss Ten Hag calling for a red card, but in the end it wasn’t even called as a foul.
Rashford showed the Brazilian a clean pair of heels
Manchester united’s second goal again Barcelona
Rashford dribble past Raphina to get that in..
Star boy 💫 pic.twitter.com/aUY4sL6YBS— #TEAMCASEMIRO (@BELIEVER_O) February 16, 2023
“At 2-1, it was a clear foul on Marcus Rashford,” the visitors’ manager said after the game. “We can discuss if it’s inside the box or outside the box, but definitely, it’s a red card.
“I asked the referee why. He said it was outside the box and that it was no foul. The linesman and referee were in a very good position to see and I think we had VAR.
“It’s not good, it was a really bad decision. Maybe they were pressed by the pressure Barca made, but they can’t be at this high level of European football. It’s a big influence, not only on this game but in this round, and referees can’t make such mistakes.”
To make matters worse for United, they were unable to hold on for what would have been an impressive victory. Raphinha’s 76th-minute cross was missed by team-mate Robert Lewandowski, but crept into the far corner with David de Gea unable to react in time.
The teams will have to do it all again at Old Trafford next Thursday with a place in the round of 16 at stake. The away goals rule is no longer in play in the Europa League, so a draw of any kind would send the tie into extra-time.
There is a bit of a boos for the Premier League side when it comes to player availability, at least. Marcel Sabitzer and Lisandro Martinez will both be available after suspension, while Barca star Gavi picked up a yellow card at Camp Nou which will rule him out of the second leg.
