Barcelona fans online ripped into Marcus Rashford for his showing in their 2-0 loss to Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg. Things went downhill for the Catalans after Pau Cubarsi was sent off with a red card in the first half.
Minutes ahead of halftime, Pau Cubarsi was sent off with a red due to a professional last-man foul (44′) on Juliano Simeone. In the next minute, Julian Alvarez scored Atletico Madrid‘s first goal of the night with an astonishing free kick. Alexander Sorloth doubled the lead in the second half (70’) after coming off the bench to replace Ademola Lookman.
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Barcelona delivered a wasteful performance in the final third of the pitch, with the exception of Lamine Yamal. Marcus Rashford took seven shots, four of which were on target, while missing one and hitting the woodwork once. He also lost possession 13 times and failed to convert multiple assists, overall delivering a mediocre performance in the game.
Fans took to X to react to Marcus Rashford‘s performance, criticizing the Manchester United loanee for being unable to deliver. One X user wrote:
“Let Rashford walk home.”
Many Culers agreed with the opinion and shared their takes:
Fans continued to share their thoughts on the matter:
Note: All in-game statistics were taken from SofaScore as of writing and are subject to change per the website’s prerogative.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick questions bizarre handball moment in UCL quarter-final clash vs Atletico Madrid
In the post-match press conference, Barcelona coach Hansi Flick questioned how the referee overlooked a moment when Atletico goalkeeper Juan Musso passed the ball to his teammate, and he stopped the play with his hand in their box. He said (via Barca Universal):
“Their goalkeeper passed the ball to his teammate, and the centre-back touched it with his hand without even looking. What’s the point of VAR?”
Speaking to reporters, centre-back Gerard Martin also pointed out the same moment, which could have been a potential handball call after a VAR check.
“The goalkeeper puts the ball into play, and the player stops it with his hand. It’s possible that the referee doesn’t see it live, because it’s a pretty wild action, but VAR has to catch it,” Martin said.
The quarter-final second leg will take place at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano, with Barcelona having a lot of work left to do to overcome the two-goal deficit. The Catalans will be without Pau Cubarsi due to the red card, while Raphinha is also not expected to be back on time. It remains to be seen if Barca can overturn the result, while Atleti will do their best to ensure the opposite.
Edited by Pratyasha Sarkar
