Barcelona faced off against Newcastle United at St. James’ Park earlier tonight as they hoped to earn a good result on the road in the UEFA Champions League. The Catalan club made a dominant start to the game but were held to a scoreless draw at the half-time break.
Marcus Rashford opened the goal-scoring with a great header in the 58th minute. The English attacker doubled Barca’s advantage just nine minutes later with a stunning strike from long range. Anthony Gordon got a goal back for the Magpies in the 90th minute, but Hansi Flick’s men hung on and secured a hard-fought 2-1 win away from home.
Let’s take a look at how each Barcelona player fared during the clash against the Magpies.
GK: Joan Garcia – 7.5/10
Garcia made a lot of crucial saves at the back and did enough to limit the opposition to just one goal.
RB: Jules Kounde – 7.5/10
He performed his defensive duties well and was a threat going forward. Kounde picked up an assist for setting up Rashford’s opener.
CB: Ronald Araujo – 7/10
Araujo made a lot of crucial clearances at the back and was a strong presence in the air.
CB: Pau Cubarsi – 7/10
He did his fair share of defending and was a strong presence in the air.
LB: Gerard Martin – 7/10
Martin was a positive influence at both ends of the pitch.
CM: Frenkie de Jong – 7/10
He came back to defend when needed and ran the show in the opponent’s half.
CM: Pedri – 7.5/10
Pedri anchored the midfield well and made two good runs with the ball.
RW: Raphinha – 7/10
He was a constant menace in the final third and engineered a few inviting chances for his teammates.
CAM: Fermin Lopez – 6.5/10
Lopez caught the eye at times in the final third but failed to register a goal.
LW: Marcus Rashford – 9/10
He caused all sorts of headaches for his marker and scored two great goals to win the game for Barcelona. Rashford deserves to be named the man of the match.
ST: Robert Lewandowski – 7/10
Lewandowski had a few bright moments in the game but struggled to find the back of the net.
Substitutes:
ST: Ferran Torres – 6/10
He failed to make an impact.
CB: Andreas Christensen – 6/10
Christensen was solid at the back.
RB: Eric Garcia – N/A
CAM: Dani Olmo – N/A
CM: Marc Casado – N/A
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