Marcus Rashford statement speaks volumes after Jude Bellingham blow | Football | Sport

Marcus Rashford has delivered a rallying cry after enduring a setback during his stint with Barcelona. Rashford departed Manchester United in the summer transfer window to secure a season-long loan switch to the La Liga powerhouses.

The England star had spent the latter half of the previous campaign on loan at Aston Villa and is said to have made clear his intention to depart United once more at the beginning of pre-season. The summer transfer window saw Rashford strongly tipped for a permanent exit from United, before Old Trafford bosses struck an arrangement for a loan deal with Barcelona.

Following his switch to Barcelona, Rashford has netted five times and registered seven assists for the Catalan club. Nevertheless, the United loanee was handed a blow over the weekend.

Sunday saw Barcelona suffer a 2-1 defeat by arch-rivals Real Madrid in El Clasico, leaving them trailing by five points at the summit of the La Liga table. Rashford set up Fermin Lopez’s strike but was unable to spare Barcelona from defeat, with Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham finding the net for Madrid.

Shortly afterwards, Rashford turned to social media to share a message aimed at rallying his teammates following the setback. “Clearly, not the result that we wanted yesterday. It’s a marathon not a sprint and we will keep fighting,” Rashford posted to his 21.3 million Instagram followers.

Following the loss, Barcelona’s assistant head coach Marcus Sorg went on to admit: “I think in the end, we made more mistakes than we’re used to. It’s true that our defensive level was very low. In the final third, our penetration power did not allow us to create more chances.”

Rashford will have another chance to shine for Barcelona on Sunday when they take on Elche in La Liga, aiming to narrow the five-point gap with Madrid.