“He’s an absolute professional player,” says Barcelona coach
Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has praised Marcus Rashford for having “the right attitude”, following the forward’s “fantastic” reaction to losing his starting place.
Rashford’s minutes have been reduced since Raphinha returned to the squad after being sidelined for nearly two months with a hamstring injury.
The on-loan Manchester United forward returned to the starting XI in last weekend’s 5-3 win over Real Betis but was back on the bench for Tuesday’s Champions League victory over Eintracht Frankfurt.
He made an impact regardless, coming on in the second half to change the game and crucially set up Jules Kounde’s equaliser.
“When he’s on the bench, it shows also we have a good team,” Flick said. “In this position we have excellent players. What I can say, he’s an absolute professional player. His attitude, mentality is great.”
The German narrated the conversation he had with Rashford after leaving him out.
Flick said: “What he said to me the last day was: ‘Boss, you don’t have to tell me this, it’s only about the team. We have to win three points, nothing else is important.’
“It’s the right attitude. The mentality he has is fantastic and I am really happy he is here.”
Rashford has six goals and 11 assists in 21 appearances for Barcelona this season. His reduced minutes since Raphinha’s return have added to the competition for places, with Ferran Torres and Robert Lewandowski also fighting for the No 9 role. Torres has 13 goals in 20 games, while Lewandowski has eight in 17.
“It increases the ceiling of every player when there is competition,” Flick said. “What I can see in the last five weeks, it’s amazing. Lewy, Ferran, it’s perfect. For me, it’s perfect.”
Barcelona sit four points clear at the top of La Liga but Flick dismissed any suggestion that the table means much at this stage.
“It’s a long road ahead,” said Barcelona’s manager. “It’s December, and we’ve got a lot to play for. There are things we can do better. The right attitude is not to be happy with what we’ve already got. We have to keep going.”
