Newcastle 1-2 Barcelona (Gordon 90′ | Rashford 58′, 67′)
ST JAMES’ PARK — On nights like this, you wonder why Marcus Rashford hasn’t gained a foothold in the pantheon of Europe’s best players.
A brilliant, virtuoso display for Barcelona at St James’ Park felt like a significant milestone in a career that had hit a fork in the road.
We have been here before, of course, but Rashford’s superb brace to down Newcastle United felt different.
For a start the two goals arrived in a Barcelona shirt, playing in a team that has pretensions of winning the Champions League.
Marcus Rashford take. A. Bow.
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But it was the wide smile that broke out when he was embraced by Hansi Flick after being substituted late on that hinted that this latest fresh start might be a turning point.
What a talent he is. This game was evenly poised when he pounced with a smart header past Nick Pope to edge Barcelona into the lead.
But it was a second goal of rare quality that killed it off, a dipping drive that crashed off the crossbar to squeeze the life out of a game home side.
For Eddie Howe, perhaps this will go down as another “what if” in a season that has had far too many of them.
The Newcastle head coach made a bold call not to start record signing Nick Woltemade and his striker-less Magpies duly played like a team with their wings clipped in the final third.
Newcastle's superb passage of play is rewarded by Anthony Gordon
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You could see the logic: Woltemade had tired in a match-winning debut against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Anthony Gordon is a whirling dervish of chaos waiting to be unleashed.
But Newcastle fans had seen this movie before – plenty of energy and opportunity but no cutting edge.
Perhaps against Leeds United or Aston Villa you can get away with it. But not against one of the favourites to win the competition and not when Rashford was in such irresistible form.
Having begun with fizz, things fell alarmingly flat by the final whistle. Barcelona controlled the game after Rashford’s opener and will undoubtedly go deep in the Champions League this season.
For Newcastle the learning curve is steep and they have it all to prove against middleweight opponents Union Saint-Gilloise next month.
After the build-up, the conclusion felt like a bit of an anti-climax.
The Newcastle fans hoisted a tifo depicting a rock star magpie before the game in a tribute to AC/DC and their start was pure heavy metal football.
Player of the match: Marcus Rashford
- A wonderful double capped a performance of devastating counter-attacking class from the England forward
The ferocious press that Howe demands from his team was turned up to eleven here in an attempt to disrupt the Barcelona swagger and for a while it really seemed to work.
However much the opposition is prepared for the black and white swarm on nights like this, it is a trap that is difficult for even the most sophisticated opponents to escape.
The question is always whether Howe’s side can capitalise and the breakthrough remained agonisingly elusive.
It shouldn’t have done: Elanga’s electric pace sent him clear of Gerard Martin on six minutes but his cross fizzed beyond a wrong-footed Gordon to groans from the fired-up home support.
It was a scene that must have felt familiar. In the early weeks of the season Newcastle did almost everything right but had no striker to capitalise.
This time it was a tactical call as Howe left Germany international Woltemade on the bench to unleash the energy of Gordon, Elanga and Harvey Barnes as a front three.
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As the contest settled, Barcelona’s influence grew. Rashford is no stranger to St James’ Park but the listless version of the England forward that has sometimes pitched up in Manchester United red was nowhere to be seen as he soon caused problems with his pace and direct running.
His battle with former international teammate Kieran Trippier was a fascinating first half subplot. He drew first blood with a brilliant spin and run that was let down by a poor finish before Trippier re-adjusted and smothered a second potential breakaway.
He was to make the decisive interventions in the end, even if Gordon’s late goal offered Newcastle hope.
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