Hansi Flick believes moving to a new country and embracing another culture has been integral to Marcus Rashford’s eye-catching form for Barcelona.
The forward finally earned his dream move to Barcelona over the summer, joining the club on loan from Manchester United, and has made an impressive start to life in Catalonia.
Six goals and seven assists in 16 appearances is already as many goal contributions as he achieved in the entirety of the 2023–24 season, with his returns for Barça also earning the 28-year-old regular England appearances under Thomas Tuchel.
Arriving into a star-studded forward line that already contained Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski, Rashford has proven his worth to Flick, who is delighted with the loanee’s displays.
Speaking before Barça’s Champions League clash with Chelsea on Tuesday, Flick said: “I’m really very happy. He came back from a cold, but he’s OK. We’ll decide [on Tuesday] if he starts or not. But I’m happy to have him in our team.
“I followed him his whole career, I was impressed with his quality, what he’s doing in the box in front of the opponent’s goal. He has shown it in Barcelona.
“Also, for him this change to live in another culture, with fantastic people, nice weather, it’s amazing. We can see now he’s also smiling a lot. If he can enjoy the atmosphere we have it’s also very good.”
Rashford Playing Himself Into World Cup Contention
Rashford has made frequent returns to England this season to team up with Tuchel’s Three Lions, but Tuesday’s fixture with Chelsea offers him the opportunity to prove a point while donning Barça colors.
The versatile forward has already visited England once with Barça this season, featuring prominently in the club’s 2–1 win over Newcastle United at St James’ Park in the Champions League. Rashford scored twice on that occasion, including an absolute stunner, to seal victory for the Catalan behemoths.
Whether Rashford can have a similar impact at Stamford Bridge remains to be seen, but Chelsea are one of his favorite opponents.
Only against four clubs has Rashford scored more than the six he’s slotted past the Blues and against no other team has he produced more assists (5). Four of his goal contributions against Chelsea have come at Stamford Bridge.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Hansi Flick Reveals Key Reason Behind Impressive Marcus Rashford Form.
