The good news for Marcus Rashford is that his loan move to Barcelona has already earned him a return to the England national team. Indeed, Thomas Tuchel has awarded him a place in the squad for the September World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia.
However, after appearing in the first three La Liga games of the season, the Manchester United loanee has not exactly set the world alight. He came on as a substitute for 21 minutes in the 3-0 away win over Mallorca on the first day, and was replaced at halftime in the 3-2 away win over Levante. Rashford most recently began on the bench against Rayo Vallecano and came on with 28 minutes remaining.
Rashford Struggles to Impact 1–1 Draw vs Rayo Vallecano
Barcelona had 12 shots at goal, the same as their opponents (but three fewer on target), and were playing away from home for the third time in a row. They took the lead in the 40th minute with a penalty from Lamine Yamal, but were unable to hang on as Fran Perez levelled the scores in the 67th minute, resulting in a 1-1 tie.
Rashford replaced Raphinha at 62 minutes and did his hardest to make an impact, with one shot, one important pass, and one of two attempted crosses. He wasn’t at his best, dropping the ball four times, completing only one of his three dribbling efforts, failing to reach a teammate with his one long pass, winning only one of three duels, and being caught offside once.
Rashford has already played 94 minutes in La Liga over three games and has yet to score or assist.
Spanish media give Rashford mixed reviews.
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The Spanish media were divided on his efforts against Rayo Vallecano. Sempre Barcelona, for example, were particularly harsh in their player ratings, giving him 5.5/10 and writing:
“Haphazard attempts and some questionable decisions, the English winger certainly did not make a good impression apart from a decent run here or there.”
Goal ES was more tougher, giving him a 5/10, but they still said something positive: “He had a couple of brilliant moments but wasn’t a huge improvement on Raphinha in the final 30 minutes.”
AS also applauded one time when a good combination play with Robert Lewandowski almost resulted in a goal. They said, “He connected well with Lewandowski, but he was offside.” “He played on the left wing.”
Overall, Rashford had a very average performance, and he will need to make a bigger impact for both club and country in the coming months if he is to make the most of his loan stay in Spain and make Tuchel’s 2026 World Cup squad.
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