Marcus Rashford announced his arrival in Barcelona colours on the European stage with a brilliant brace, guiding the Catalan giants to a 2-1 victory over Newcastle United in their UEFA Champions League opener at St James' Park. The win extends Barca's strong record against English opposition, with 13 victories from their last 17 UCL encounters W13, D2, L2.
Just as Hansi Flick predicted in the match pre-game press conference , a raucous home crowd inspired Newcastle to a strong start, with Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes both wasting golden chances inside the opening 20 minutes. Joan Garcia was called into action to deny Barnes, while Barcelona struggled to cope with the hosts' physical intensity. Pedri gradually grew into the game, though, as Barca began to settle before the break.
In the games preview, Softfootball predicted a very tight encounter, and gave Barcelona a 1-3 victory . The Catalans controlled the game gracefully, and there was not much panic as Pedri and Frankie De Jong controlled proceedings, with Fermin Lopez also putting in a shift in Midfield.