Marcus Rashford during his debut for Barcelona(Image: 2025 Getty Images)
Marcus Rashford made his debut for Barcelona in a 3-1 friendly victory over Vissel Kobe in Japan – but was replaced after just 33 minutes.
The 27 year old, who has transferred to the Catalan club from Manchester United on a season-long loan, came on at half-time and was substituted after 78 minutes.
Rashford had a shot saved during his first match for Hansi Flick’s team, who secured the win thanks to goals from Eric Garcia, Roony Bardghji and academy prodigy Pedro Fernandez.
Bardghji, another summer signing from Copenhagen, put Barcelona back in the lead after Taisei Miyashiro had equalised for the home side.
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Spanish starlet Lamine Yamal, 18, was handed Barcelona’s iconic number 10 shirt – previously donned by football legends such as Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi – before the match started.
Explaining why Rashford was restricted to just 33 minutes, Flick told Barcelona’s official website: “He’s a week behind the others. He hasn’t been training as much with the ball, and we want to look after him.
“It was a very good match, a good test for us. The first 30 minutes were fantastic. After that we lost a bit of control, but the second half was also very good. I’m pleased.
“What they do with the ball, how they pressed us, it’s really interesting. You can tell they have a clear idea, and it’s similar to ours.”
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