Marcus Rashford is thriving in positive atmosphere at Barcelona – Hansi Flick
By Robert O'Connor, PA
Barcelona manager Hansi Flick said a “change of atmosphere” has done Marcus Rashford good following his loan move from Manchester United.
The England forward has recovered from the flu that kept him out of Saturday’s 4-0 LaLiga win over Athletic Bilbao and is available for Tuesday’s meeting with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Four of his six Barca goals so far have come in the Champions League, including two on the team’s previous visit to England to face Newcastle in September, and the move to the Nou Camp has gone some of the way towards resurrecting a career that had stalled at Old Trafford.
“I’m happy to have him in the team, playing for Barca,” said Flick. “I’ve followed him throughout his whole career and I’ve always been impressed by his quality and what he can do in the box, and he’s showing that in Barcelona.
“That change for him, new football, in Barcelona, with good weather. For me it’s incredible to see how he’s always smiling. That’s the atmosphere we have and it’s very good for him.”
Barca and Chelsea sit level on seven points after four matches in this season’s competition, with both sides requiring a win in west London if they are realistically to keep alive hopes of achieving direct passage to the last-16.
As well as being able to call on Rashford, Flick’s task will be aided by the return from injury of Raphinha, who made his first appearance in almost two months as a substitute in Saturday’s win.
The Brazil international suffered a series of setbacks during his recovery from a groin problem which had pushed back his return date, with reports in Spain suggesting players have been unhappy with with the way injuries have been handled by Barca medical staff.
However, the forward is in contention to feature in the club’s first game away to Chelsea since 2018.
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“Step by step with Raphinha,” said Flick. “For me, the important thing is that he’s back. About the minutes and how much he will play, we’ll decide.
“He’s had the same injury twice and that’s not good at this stage, so we’ll be careful.
“I’m very happy that he returned because as soon as he played on Saturday, we saw the difference. The dynamism, he created spaces and I’m very happy to have him.”
Barca triumphed 4-1 on aggregate when the teams last met in the Champions League last-16 nearly eight years ago.
Lionel Messi’s equaliser earned the visitors a 1-1 draw in the first leg in London before scoring twice more in a 3-0 second-leg win.
