How Marcus Rashford has 'excited' Barcelona fans as on-loan Manchester United forward looks to punish old foes Chelsea in UEFA Champions League clash

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Marcus Rashford returns to England with Barcelona this week to face Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League. The on-loan Manchester United forward made the temporary switch to the Spanish champions over the summer, and having already shone in Europe against another English club this season, we take a look at how he is settling into life in his new surroundings.

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As Chelsea play host to Barcelona in the latest round of UEFA Champions League action at Stamford Bridge, one of the main subplots of the evening will be the return of Marcus Rashford to English soil.

The on-loan Manchester United forward has already haunted one Premier League side in the competition this season and will hope to repeat his heroics from the Newcastle game when he squares up to Enzo Maresca’s Blues.

After sitting out Barca's most recent La Liga clash with Athletic Club with illness, the England international is expected to be back in contention for the trip to London.

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Rashford, 28, is experiencing something of a career resurgence at Barca, having struggled in recent years at Old Trafford, leading first to a loan to Aston Villa last season, ahead of a temporary switch to Catalunya this summer.

Scoring six goals and registering seven assists in all competitions, Rashford’s form has earned him more regular outings for England under Thomas Tuchel, having seemingly fallen out of favour towards the tail end of Gareth Southgate’s tenure.

"Barca fans are excited with him," Eurosport Spain's Adrian Garcia tells TNT Sports. "Because he brings speed and good skills from left wing."

With the World Cup around the corner, the forward will be hoping his contributions to Barcelona’s La Liga and Champions League challenge will continue as he hopes to secure a seat on that plane to America in the summer.

His four goals in the Champions League this season to date place him just one behind the likes of Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe and Three Lions team-mate Harry Kane - all on five.

He is also Barca’s top scorer in Europe this season after the first four matches of the league phase, and is only outscored by three players at the club in all competitions.

Barcelona goal contributions 2025/26

	Games (Minutes)	GA (Goals+Assists)
Marcus Rashford	16 (1133)	13 (6+7)
Lamine Yamal	12 (978)	13 (6+7)
Fermin Lopez	12 (817)	11 (7+4)
Ferran Torres	15 (959)	10 (9+1)
Robert Lewandowski	13 (633)	8 (8+0)
Raphinha	8 (483)	5 (3+2)
Dani Olmo	14 (792)	3 (1+2)

Rashford’s seven assists also see him lead the way on that metric and, with 13 goal contributions, is the club’s current joint most productive player alongside Lamine Yamal.

After exploding on the scene in 2016, the versatile Rashford, who is capable of playing across the frontline, was a key and consistent player for United. As the club worked its way through several managers and players, he seemed to be the constant.

A major dip in form came in the 2021/22 campaign, but this is perhaps caveated by the fact he was working his way back to fitness following major surgery on a troublesome shoulder.

As if to emphasise this point, Rashford had his best campaign in red the following year, registering 39 combined goals and assists.

Marcus Rashford - Career to date

Season	Games Played	GA (Goals+Assists)
Man Utd 2015/2016	18	10 (8+2)
Man Utd 2016/2017	53	15 (11+4)
Man Utd 2017/2018	52	21 (13+8)
Man Utd 2018/2019	47	20 (13+7)
Man Utd 2019/2020	44	30 (22+8)
Man Utd 2020/2021	57	33 (21+12)
Man Utd 2021/2022	32	7 (5+2)
Man Utd 2022/2023	56	39 (30+9)
Man Utd 2023/2024	43	13 (8+5)
= Man Utd 2024/2025	24	10 (7+3)
= Aston Villa (Loan) 2024/2025	17	9 (4+5)
2024-25 Combined	41	19 (11+8)
Barcelona (Loan) 2025/2026	16	13 (6+7)

Unable to repeat this, however, and with United going through yet more changes over the next two seasons, the player needed a change of his own, impressing during last season’s switch to Villa, scoring four times, and assisting five for his interim team-mates.

With his move to Barca perhaps coming as a surprise to many, Rashford chose his return to England to silence his doubters, scoring twice - including one absolute banger - in an all-round match-winning display at St. James’ Park.

Highlights: Rashford bags stunning brace as Barcelona sink Newcastle

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"When he's at the top of his game, he can be unstoppable," said TNT Sports pundit Joe Cole after that match. "We've just seen not enough nights like that. But it's great to see him smiling and back at it.

"When he's at his best, he's an England starter, he could be a Barcelona starter, he could get into any team in the world, and you just want to see him enjoying his football again - it was great tonight."

Marcus Rashford 2025-26

	La Liga	UEFA Champions League
Games Played	12	4
Minutes Played	806	327
Goals	2	4
Assists	6	1
Goals+Assists	8	5
Expected Goals	2.8	1.0
Expected Assists	2.8	0.8
Total Shots (inc. Blocks)	39	17
Shots on Target	14	5
Chances Created (inc. assists)	23	5

Although performing well at the moment, Rashford has largely benefited from an injury to team-mate Raphinha, with the winger having been out of action since the end of September.

But with the ex-Leeds star's return to action in the rout of Athletic Club at the weekend, manager Hansi Flick will have an albeit welcome selection dilemma and how he sets up his front line with his Brazilian Ballon d’Or contender, Rashford and the mercurial Lamine Yamal at his disposal in wide areas.

"Raphinha is okay after a long injury," warns Eurosport's Garcia. "And Rashford's minutes might decrease in upcoming games. We'll see."

If given the opportunity, Rashford will hope to use the Chelsea match to argue his case, and having scored six times previously against The Blues and registering four assists, it could be the perfect game to stake his claim.

Marcus Rashford's favorite opponents

Opponent	Games	GA (Goals+Assists)
Newcastle United	16	10 (7+3)
Chelsea	21	10 (6+4)
Arsenal	18	10 (6+4)
Everton	19	10 (5+5)
Leicester City	18	9 (8+1)
West Ham United	22	9 (5+4)
Liverpool	20	8 (7+1)
Manchester City	23	8 (7+1)
Tottenham Hotspur	18	7 (6+1)
Nottingham Forest	8	7 (3+4)
Southampton	15	7 (3+4)

Flick: Rashford excelling in new 'atmosphere'

Hansi Flick has said the change of environment in joining Barcelona on loan has put the smile back on Rashford's face, and the forward is thriving in a fresh 'atmosphere'.

Flick is relieved that the England international is fit to face Chelsea in the Champions League on Tuesday night after missing his side’s win over Athletic Club on Saturday with a cold.

"I’m really very happy," the Barcelona manager said. "He came back from a cold, but he’s OK. We’ll decide tomorrow if he starts or not. But I’m happy to have him in our team.

"I followed him his whole career, I was impressed with his quality, what he’s doing in the box in front of the opponent’s goal.

"He has shown it in Barcelona. Also for him this change to live in another culture, with fantastic people, nice weather, it’s amazing. We can see now he’s also smiling a lot. If he can enjoy the atmosphere we have it’s also very good."

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