Marcus Rashford’s first start for Barcelona lasted only 45 minutes on Saturday night – but boss Hansi Flick insisted his decision to take the Manchester United loanee off at half-time was purely tactical.
The 27-year-old England forward joined Barca on loan last month with an option for a permanent move worth around £30 million.
He made his La Liga debut off the bench in last weekend’s 3-0 victory over Mallorca, before being handed a place in the starting XI for the trip to Levante.
Rashford lined up on the left wing in a reshuffled attack that saw Raphinha deployed centrally behind Ferran Torres and teenage sensation Lamine Yamal wide on the right.
He looked lively early on, forcing goalkeeper Pablo Campos into a save inside the opening minutes after latching onto his own cleared corner, and later nutmegged defender Roger Brugué to the delight of the travelling fans.
But Barcelona trailed 2-0 at the interval after Ivan Romero’s opener and a controversial Jose Luis Morales penalty, and Flick responded by replacing Rashford with Dani Olmo while also sending on Gavi for Marc Casado.
Marcus Rashford made his first start for Barcelona on Saturday but was subbed of at half-time
Barca head coach Hansi Flick later said Rashford was taken off because of tactical reasons
After being 2-0 down at half-time, Flick’s Barca side went on to beat Levante 3-2 in Valencia
The changes paid off almost instantly as Pedri and Torres struck in quick succession to level the scores before Unai Elgezabal’s stoppage-time own goal completed a dramatic 3-2 comeback win for the Spanish champions.
Explaining why Rashford was withdrawn, Flick said: ‘Of course, the second half, we have to change something. Raphinha on the [left] side is our No 11.
‘He knows everything [about how we play]; what we want to do when he has to come inside.
‘I think we got the right changes. But of course, when we score the first goal so early in the second half, it helps a lot for us and changed the strategy.’
Despite being hooked at the break, Flick insisted he was satisfied with Rashford’s contribution, adding: ‘I think Marcus had some situations in the first half where he showed how good he is and how he can help us.
‘This is, for me, where we have to continue.’
