Marcus Rashford came off the bench to provide an assist as Barcelona eased past Getafe to maintain their unbeaten start to the La Liga season.
The England forward set up Dani Olmo’s 62nd-minute strike after Ferran Torres had put the defending champions in control with two first-half goals.
Rashford, who scored twice in Barcelona’s Champions League win at Newcastle on Thursday, began on the bench amid reports in Spain that he had arrived late to a pre-match meeting. Coach Hansi Flick, however, explained the decision as part of normal squad rotation.
“Every three or four days we have a match, so we need fresh legs on the pitch,” Flick said.
Rashford replaced Raphinha at half-time after the Brazilian, already booked, became embroiled in an altercation before the break. Within minutes of coming on, Rashford was involved in Barcelona’s third, bursting down the right before cutting back for Olmo to score from the edge of the box.
The loanee from Manchester United nearly added his first La Liga goal late on, only to be denied by a fine save from David Soria in stoppage time.
Torres had earlier struck twice inside 34 minutes—first finishing off a flowing move that began with Raphinha and was capped by Olmo’s clever backheel, before adding a second with a precise low drive after running on to Raphinha’s long pass. The forward was denied a hat-trick when his volley crashed off the bar.
Getafe struggled to cope with Barcelona’s attacking fluidity, with coach José Bordalás booked in a fiery first half that also saw three of his players cautioned. Javi Muñoz went close just after the restart, but Barca weathered the pressure to seal victory.
The result keeps Barcelona in second place, two points behind leaders Real Madrid after five games. Their home fixtures continue to be staged at the Johan Cruyff Stadium while redevelopment work at the Nou Camp is ongoing.
Rashford’s assist was his second in consecutive La Liga outings, though questions about his discipline persist. During his Manchester United career, he was twice dropped for breaking team rules—once in January 2024 after being seen in Belfast nightspots, and earlier in 2022 for missing a team meeting.
