Rashford plays as well as Messi.

In the early hours of September 19th, Marcus Rashford exploded with a brace and impressive statistics as he helped Barcelona defeat Newcastle 2-1 in the 2025/26 Champions League qualifying round.

Marcus Rashford delivered an outstanding performance, leading the Barcelona squad in shots (6), touches in the penalty area (10), dribbles (5), and ball recoveries (6) against Newcastle.

According to Opta , for the first time since Lionel Messi in 2015, Barcelona has had a player produce such outstanding statistics in a Champions League match. "Rashford is in superb form," The Analyst wrote.

Rashford scored 7 goals in 12 encounters with Newcastle in all competitions, with a total of 10 assists (3 assists). The Magpies are only behind Leicester City (8) in the list of teams that have been scored against by the English player the most.

Notably, Rashford also made history by becoming the first English player to score for Barcelona in the Champions League. More broadly, Rashford is the first English player to score for Barcelona in European competitions since Gary Lineker in 1989.

Rashford currently has the same number of goals scored against Premier League teams this season as the entire Manchester United squad in the first four rounds of the 2025/26 season.

Hansi Flick became the only coach in Champions League history to have his team score in all 33 matches he managed (102 goals, 57 with Bayern Munich, 45 with Barcelona).

Barcelona won their 21st Champions League opening match in 30 seasons, along with 6 draws and 3 defeats. This was the first time the Catalan club had faced an English team in their opening match since their 4-0 victory over Leeds United in the 2000/01 season.

Conversely, Newcastle United continue to struggle at home, having lost all three of their most recent Champions League matches since their 4-1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain in October 2023.

Rashford's brace: In the early hours of September 19th, Marcus Rashford shone brightly, helping Barcelona beat Newcastle 2-1 in the 2025/26 Champions League qualifying round.

Source: https://znews.vn/rashford-da-hay-nhu-messi-post1586515.html