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Back to his best?
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After a turbulent few years, Marcus Rashford is flourishing at Barcelona and silencing his sizeable critics by showcasing his unquestionable talent. The 27-year-old’s ability has never been in doubt with much of the criticism that the England international has faced in recent years revolving around perceived attitude issues. It was unquestionably the right time for all parties for Rashford to depart Manchester United this summer and moving to Barcelona has reignited his career.
Few players have burst onto the scene to the same extent as Rashford when he scored consecutive braces to start his Man United career. He enjoyed some memorable moments at his boyhood club but his relationship with supporters soured towards the end. Rashford showed glimpses of brilliance during his loan spell at Aston Villa last season to convince Barcelona to firm up their long-standing interest. There was considerable scepticism to Barca’s pursuit of the Englishman but Rashford has recovered his best form and he’s back playing football with a smile on his face.
Marcus Rashford’s renaissance at Barcelona
It was a memorable night for Barcelona as Hansi Flick named seven La Masia academy graduates in their starting eleven in the 6-1 win over Olympiacos in the Champions League and Fermín López bagged a hat-trick. But it was also a significant night for Rashford as he grabbed his second brace in the Champions League this season and no Barcelona player has more goal contributions this season than the Man United loanee.
Rashford has five goals and six assists in 12 appearances for Barcelona and he’s averaging an incredible 1.24 goal contributions per 90 minutes. Rashford played as the central striker and he could be deployed in that role against Real Madrid in El Clasico on Sunday. The Englishman leads the way for goal contributions at Barca this season on 11, ahead of Lamine Yamal (8) and Ferran Torres (6). Interestingly, Rashford’s output of 1.24 g/a per90 at Barcelona is far superior to his record across his 426 Man United appearances of 0.68 g/a per90. It's still early days in his career in Spain but the €30 million buy-option that Barcelona have to sign Rashford permanently currently looks a bargain.
