Marcus Rashford featured as Barcelona pushed for a comeback against Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg.
The Manchester United loanee was absent from the first leg, which saw Atletico come away with a 4-0 win, after missing out through illness.
He was back in the line-up for the second leg and helped Barcelona to a 3-0 victory, although it wasn’t quite enough to level the tie on aggregate.
Marcus Rashford again left out of the starting XI
Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, and Robert Lewandowski have become the preferred front three for Barcelona, limiting Rashford’s opportunities to feature in the starting XI.
He hasn’t completed a full 90 minutes for the club since October, and his appearances have mostly come off the bench.
Following Lewandowski’s recent eye injury against Villarreal, there were suggestions in the Spanish media that Rashford would be given a start in his absence.
However, Hansi Flick opted to go with Ferran Torres instead, once again leaving Rashford among the substitutes.
Marcus Rashford came close to creating a decisive moment for Barcelona
With Barcelona already 2-0 up thanks to goals from Marc Bernal and Raphinha, Marcus Rashford was brought on in the 64th minute.
He took Fermin Lopez’s place, and just eight minutes later, Bernal scored again to make it 3-0.
At that point, Barcelona were one goal away from forcing extra time, but couldn’t find the crucial breakthrough.
Rashford didn’t get a shot off during his time on the pitch, though he did take four corners.
His most notable moment came in the 89th minute when he pulled back a pass to Bernal on the edge of the area. The midfielder had a chance for his hat-trick but fired over.
If Bernal had found the net there, Rashford’s involvement would have been more widely recognised. Even though it wasn’t an easy finish, he should have at least tested the keeper.
Had Bernal scored then, Rashford might have had another half hour in extra time to try and make even more of an impact. Still, it wasn’t down to lack of effort on his part; sometimes results just don’t fall your way.
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