Marcus Rashford Makes Debut As Barcelona Stroll Past Nine-man Mallorca

In nan extremity Marcus Rashford did get to make his competitory debut for Barcelona arsenic they began their defence of nan La Liga title. Formally registered a small aft 10.30 connected Saturday morning, Barcelona’s economical obstacles overcome, he was introduced conscionable aft 9pm pinch 22 minutes near of a sticky and yet successful nighttime successful Mallorca. By nan clip he pulled connected his garment and stepped up nan line, 1 of 3 subs brought on, nan somesthesia had dropped a little, if still not enough, nan crippled was already won, he was up against conscionable 9 men, and he sewage 10 touches. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.

Earlier than expected, too: Rashford had insisted he was assured but nan doubts complete him being registered were not resolved until nan greeting of nan match. And so, connected 68 minutes, location he was waiting to travel on.

Playing done nan mediate pinch Barcelona already 2-0 up and drifting done a 2nd half that Hansi Flick said he didn’t for illustration astatine all, Rashford produced a mates of neat layoffs, a fistful of passes and had 2 fleeting glimpses of goal. In one, he was a small slow to react, successful nan different nan shot was caught nether his feet arsenic he trued to trim backmost inside. He did though get a close-up glimpse of different infinitesimal of magic from Lamine Yamal, who provided nan last touch pinch that Lamine Yamal goal. That’s immoderate teammate he has there.

A video from training had done nan rounds past week successful which Lamine Yamal had responded to different bamboozled force by declaring: “I’m unstoppable,” and he didn’t discarded clip lending weight to that claim. His play was conscionable 2 minutes in, erstwhile he twisted, turned, stopped started and escaped into nan area, a informing to Johan Mojica and Mallorca – if they needed it – that this wasn’t going to beryllium an easy evening. Just 5 minutes later, he slipped nan weapon in, clipping successful what appeared an easy, almost lazy shot to nan acold post. There, each unsocial and from adjacent range, Raphinha headed Barcelona into nan lead.

There was a benignant of stillness astir nan place, for illustration personification had pressed pause: if had been excessively simple, nan abstraction nan Brazilian had excessively large for it to beryllium real. But, while nan referee did region to cheque for offside, it was.

Mallorca did react, Vedat Muriqi laying disconnected wrong nan Barcelona area erstwhile he mightiness person taken nan changeable himself. Mojica was making advancement up nan near successful those moments erstwhile he was released from watching Lamine Yamal, his debased deliveries nan root of nan astir danger. There was an attempted overhead footwear from Takuma Asano and an opportunity for Muriqi, which he struck consecutive astatine Joan García successful Barça’s goal.

Lamine Yamal celebrates aft completing nan scoring. Photograph: Francisco Ubilla/Reuters

And past Barcelona scored a second. Again, location was thing unusual astir it – much truthful than nan first time. Lamine Yamal had travel wrong and deed a changeable that Antonio Raíllo had blocked pinch his head. The centre-back collapsed to nan floor, his caput successful his hands, his look connected nan turf, and nan shot looped up. When it came down again, Lamine Yamal conscionable astir controlled. Ferran Torres took nan ball, stumbled past a mates of chances and smashed a superb changeable into nan apical corner.

Six seconds had passed, Raíllo was still down, and while nary 1 had stopped exactly, aliases not physically, possibly mentally they had, arsenic if waiting for a whistle that ne'er came. The changeable flew past Raíllo who was still connected nan crushed and Leo Román didn’t dive – though that mightiness person been arsenic overmuch astir nan anticipation of getting location anyway. Pedri slapped palms pinch Torres but location was a benignant of motion from nan scorer, arsenic if everyone assumed this wouldn’t count. It did.

Mallorca were incensed, and soon their inferiority was irredeemable. Two goals down, they were quickly 2 men down. An outrageous move and tally from Lamine Yamal began connected nan halfway statement and, beyond Mojica and Sergi Darder, ended connected nan separator of nan Mallorca area, wherever Manu Morlanes clipped him. Morlanes was shown a 2nd yellow. That was connected half an hour; wrong 9 minutes, different man walked. Muriqi was primitively shown a yellowish paper for his situation connected García but, freeze-framed, it looked worse connected nan video adjunct referee screen: a group of studs successful nan keeper’s look led to nan yellowish being upgraded to a red.

This was done barroom nan shouting – and location was a batch of that, of course. Hands were up because this, nan fans claimed, was a robbery. Lamine Yamal wanted his goal, doubly sending shots conscionable wide earlier nan break and past bending 1 complete astatine nan commencement of nan 2nd half. Flick though was not happy pinch what he saw successful that 2nd half, and Lamine Yamal would person to hold until nan last minute.

There had been chances for others too, moreover if Mallorca resisted beautiful good 2 men down. Raphinha changeable wide, Dani Olmo deed a post, Ronald Araújo volleyed wide. Leo Román made a superb prevention from Olmo and different from Eric García. Rashford joined successful but didn’t get nan chance to trial nan keeper, a swift one-two pinch Pedri earning him a raised thumb but not a changeable connected goal. And then, arsenic nan timepiece went past 90, erstwhile he was looking for abstraction to sprout he appeared to tread connected nan ball, leaving clip for conscionable 1 much moment, and that belonged to Lamine Yamal.