Man Utd recalled Marcus Rashford before Newcastle clash and now star is set for familiar trip

Nine months ago, Marcus Rashford was brought back into the Manchester United squad by Ruben Amorim for a match against Newcastle. Fast forward to now and the striker is gearing up to face the same team at St James' Park on Thursday night.

This time, he will be playing for his new club, Barcelona, in their first Champions League game of the season, underlining how much his circumstances have changed. Amorim recalled Rashford during a period when he was being sidelined from the team following a disagreement with the Portuguese coach.

After being dropped due to alleged poor training performances, Rashford found himself unexpectedly named as a substitute for United's final game of 2024 against Eddie Howe's side, his first appearance in five matchday squads.

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However, Amorim didn't hide the fact the 27-year-old's inclusion was purely down to a high number of injuries within the United squad. That merely highlighted the dire state of Rashford's situation at Old Trafford.

Rashford didn't make it onto the pitch as United tumbled to a 2-0 home defeat after early goals from Alexander Isak and Joelinton.

Then, following a loan stint at Aston Villa, Rashford made a dream move to Barcelona on a season-long loan in the summer. Since then, he has been trying to adapt to Hansi Flick's style of play, while surrounded by world-class talent in a team with a completely different philosophy.

After providing his first assist in Barcelona's 6-0 victory over Valencia last weekend, the England international will be hoping to impress his new manager and team-mates against familiar opposition.

Rashford wasn't joined on the flight to the UK by teenage star Lamine Yamal, who has been ruled out through injury. In better news for Barca, Frenkie de Jong is available for the game after a groin issue.

It will be the fifth time the sides have met in the Champions League. Their last encounter came at St James' Park in the 2002/03 season, when Barcelona clinched a 2-0 victory in the group stage after goals from Patrick Kluivert and Thiago Motta.

Shola Ameobi found the back of the net as the Magpies suffered a 3-1 defeat at the Camp Nou earlier that season. Newcastle memorably secured their first-ever Champions League victory over Barcelona, 3-2 at home in the 1997/98 season against the likes of Luis Figo and Rivaldo, before a 1-0 loss in the reverse fixture.

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