Marcus Rashford attempts to score the best goal ever

On a shimmering late summer night in Madrid, Marcus Rashford collected the ball deep into the second half and suddenly saw his name up in lights.

Having escaped the Manchester United vortex by signing a season-long loan deal with Barcelona, Rashford eyed an opportunity to announce his arrival and kickstart his career.

It was time to remind everybody of the latent talent that has been lost in continuous noise about irrelevancies and bad-faith actors projecting their own insecurities onto a young man from Wythenshawe.

It was time to unleash one of his trademark howitzers, burst the net and win the game for Barcelona, who were being held 1-1 by Rayo Vallecano.

The catch? Rashford was approximately five miles from goal and his effort was saved by a Vallecano goalkeeper stifling a yawn.

To his right, Lamine Yamal was open and screaming for the ball. He almost burst a blood vessel in frustration at his team-mates’ wastefulness.

On the touchline, Hansi Flick looked traumatised at the unfolding events. His side had dropped two early-season points and surrendered first place to Real Madrid.

Rashford had previously impressed for Flick’s side during pre-season.

The 27-year-old notched a goal and an assist in his four friendly appearances and was handed his official debut in Barca’s season opener.

He played just 21 minutes off the bench in a 3-0 win over Mallorca, with the La Liga champions already cruising, and was afforded his opportunity to impress from the start on matchday two.

But Rashford was subbed at half-time with Barca trailing Levante by two goals and had to watch from the bench as his new team-mates staged a thrilling comeback to win 3-2.

“I think they were the right changes to make,” Flick said afterwards. “The first goal after the break changed the game.”

European football expert Andy Brassell predicted the start of the club’s Champions League campaign will be when the forward will become really important at Camp Nou.

“They’re really pleased to have him,” Brassell stressed on Rashford, when discussing his opening month in Spain on Friday.

“I think the fact that he’s got this versatility and he’s the player they wanted in that sense.”

“He really wanted to come, which is big.

“I think in terms of helping him settle, the fact that Hansi Flick does all his coaching and media in English is probably quite helpful for Marcus Rashford as well in terms of settling, integrating, and realising what the team really want for him.

“I think once the Champions League starts and they’ve got game, game, game, game, game, game, game, then Rashford starts to become really important.

“That’s the bit, I think, especially with an eight-game Champions League group where they know that they’re going to have to change the team, and now they understand the format a little bit.

“I think we’ll see teams probably shuffle their teams, their first 11s, a little bit more efficiently this season. I would imagine then Rashford starts getting proper games.”

Whether Rashford makes the most of those opportunities, or wastes them with the jaw-dropping lack of awareness he exhibited on Sunday night, will define the rest of his career.

By Michael Lee

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