Marcus Rashford is confident that Manchester United can stage another Champions League comeback in Tuesday’s quarter-final second leg against Barcelona at the Nou Camp.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men reached this phase of the competition by recording a heroic turnaround against Paris Saint-Germain in the Round of 16, winning 3-1 in France to go through on away goals.
That famous victory earned a mesmerising tie against Ernesto Valverde’s Spanish league leaders.
Although the Reds lost 1-0 in last week’s first leg at Old Trafford, the tie is still well and truly alive before the return fixture in Catalonia. We spoke to Rashford about the challenge ahead…
Firstly Marcus, how do you look back on the game with Barcelona? Frustrating given we did well but we’re still very much in the tie…
“Yeah like you say it was frustrating but at the same time you have to stay cool and remember that the game is going to be won over two legs. It was a tough game but I thought we got into some decent positions; we just struggled to create real clear-cut opportunities. We understand as a team that we have to go into the second leg with a positive mind-set and get the job done.”
What learnings did you take from the first leg?
“I think we have to do things more as a team. When they have the ball we have to press, and everyone has to press. When we have the ball and we’re attacking then everyone has to be up, so if we lose the ball we can win it back quickly. They’re a top team with some top players, and we knew it was always going to be difficult. They got a goal in the first half but other than that the game was quite even.”
There was lots of talk about Lionel Messi before the game, but it was great to see one of your fellow Academy graduates Scott McTominay pick up the Man of the Match award…
“That’s the beauty of football. On the day anyone can be very good and Scott did really well in the game and it was a deserved award for him. But he’ll be looking to build on that now and keep pushing and improving for the next games.”
