Marcus Rashford marked his first goals in Barcelona colours as the Spanish champions began their Uefa Champions League campaign with a 2-1 victory away to Newcastle United on Thursday, while Erling Haaland continued to re-write the record books in Manchester City’s win over Napoli.
It was the third straight night of action in the opening round of the new league phase and produced convincing victories for Eintracht Frankfurt, Sporting and Club Brugge, while Bayer Leverkusen were forced to settle for a draw in Copenhagen.
At St James’ Park, Rashford ended his wait for a breakthrough following his July loan move from Manchester United. The England forward opened the scoring just before the hour, heading in from a Jules Kounde cross to silence the home crowd. He then doubled the advantage midway through the second half, unleashing a thunderous right-foot strike into the top corner from 25 yards.
Anthony Gordon pulled one back for Newcastle, but Barcelona – semi-finalists last season – showed composure to close out the game and take three points back to Spain.
"It's an amazing experience playing for Barcelona," Rashford said afterwards. "I've always been a huge admirer of the club. We just want to win as much as possible."
Barcelona boss Hansi Flick has admitted he could not pass up the opportunity to sign the England striker.
Asked if he was surprised to be able to land the 27-year-old on a season-long loan deal, the German said: “When we had this chance, we said, ‘OK, we have to do it’.
“I spoke with him before everything, going in the right way. I said, ‘I want you, I want you in my team’, and 100 per cent I’m happy because he’s an outstanding player.”
Haaland’s milestone
At the Etihad Stadium, City began their pursuit of a second European crown with a 2-0 win against Napoli, the Italian champions reduced to 10 men after Giovanni Di Lorenzo was sent off for bringing down Haaland as he surged towards goal.
Napoli manager Antonio Conte was forced into reshaping his side early, withdrawing Kevin De Bruyne only 26 minutes into his return to the ground where he excelled for more than a decade.
Haaland inevitably took centre stage again, heading in from Phil Foden’s cross early in the second half to reach 50 Champions League goals in just 49 appearances. Jeremy Doku added a second to complete the win, leaving Napoli still without a victory in 13 attempts on English soil.
"The numbers speak for themselves," said City boss Pep Guardiola. "Along with Ronaldo and Messi, Erling is there. In terms of goals he is unbelievable, and we are fortunate to have him."
Haaland now sits 12th on the competition’s all-time scoring list, still far adrift of Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of 141 but setting a pace unmatched in modern European football.
Five-star Frankfurt
Frankfurt delivered the biggest statement of the evening, thrashing Galatasaray 5-1 despite conceding first. Yunus Akgun struck early for the visitors, but a Davinson Sanchez own goal levelled the contest before Can Uzun and Jonathan Burkardt struck in first-half stoppage time. Burkardt added another after the restart, and Ansgar Knauff sealed a resounding victory.
Leverkusen, fellow Bundesliga contenders, found the going tougher in Denmark. Twice they trailed to Copenhagen – through Jordan Larsson and late substitute Robert – but equalised with an Alejandro Grimaldo free-kick and a stoppage-time own goal by Pantelis Hatzidiakos.
Club Brugge stunned Monaco 4-1 in Belgium, recovering from Maghnes Akliouche’s early penalty miss for the French side. Nicolo Tresoldi, Raphael Onyedika and captain Hans Vanaken put Brugge in control by half-time, before Mamadou Diakhon added a fourth. Ansu Fati, on loan from Barcelona, struck a consolation for Monaco.
Portuguese champions Sporting brushed aside Kazakhstan’s Kairat Almaty 4-1. Francisco Trincao scored twice, with Alisson Santos and Geovany Quenda also on target after Morten Hjulmand had missed a penalty. Edmilson reduced the deficit for Kairat, who next host Real Madrid in one of the competition’s most eye-catching fixtures.
