- Marcus Rashford scored twice on his Barcelona debut
- Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon pulled one back late on
- Barcelona held firm to win 2-1 at St James’ Park
- Manchester United loanee shone in absence of Lamine Yamal
Marcus Rashford made an instant impact on his first Champions League appearance for Barcelona, scoring both goals in a hard-fought 2-1 win over Newcastle United at St James’ Park.
The Manchester United loanee opened the scoring just before the hour mark with a powerful header from Jules Koundé’s cross. Minutes later, he doubled the lead with a thunderous strike from the edge of the box that rattled in off the crossbar.
Newcastle started strongly, with Anthony Elanga twice creating clear openings. His early cross to Anthony Gordon was wasted, while another setup for Harvey Barnes forced Barcelona keeper Joan García into action.
The Magpies nearly went ahead early in the second half when Joelinton’s header went narrowly wide, but their momentum was soon broken by Rashford’s brilliance.
Anthony Gordon pulled one back for the hosts in the final minutes, finishing Jacob Murphy’s cross to set up a tense ending. Newcastle pushed for an equaliser, with Sandro Tonali testing García from range, but the visitors held firm to claim all three points.
