Rashford: We're positive we can get the job done

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men reached this phase of the competition by recording a heroic turnaround against Paris Saint-Germain in the Round of 16, winning 3-1 in France to go through on away goals.

That famous victory earned a mesmerising tie against Ernesto Valverde’s Spanish league leaders.

Although the Reds lost 1-0 in last week’s first leg at Old Trafford, the tie is still well and truly alive before the return fixture in Catalonia. We spoke to Rashford about the challenge ahead…

Firstly Marcus, how do you look back on the game with Barcelona? Frustrating given we did well but we’re still very much in the tie…
“Yeah like you say it was frustrating but at the same time you have to stay cool and remember that the game is going to be won over two legs. It was a tough game but I thought we got into some decent positions; we just struggled to create real clear-cut opportunities. We understand as a team that we have to go into the second leg with a positive mind-set and get the job done.”

What learnings did you take from the first leg?
“I think we have to do things more as a team. When they have the ball we have to press, and everyone has to press. When we have the ball and we’re attacking then everyone has to be up, so if we lose the ball we can win it back quickly. They’re a top team with some top players, and we knew it was always going to be difficult. They got a goal in the first half but other than that the game was quite even.”

There was lots of talk about Lionel Messi before the game, but it was great to see one of your fellow Academy graduates Scott McTominay pick up the Man of the Match award…
“That’s the beauty of football. On the day anyone can be very good and Scott did really well in the game and it was a deserved award for him. But he’ll be looking to build on that now and keep pushing and improving for the next games.”

How much confidence do you take from what we did in Paris?
“We’ll always take confidence from that but we also understand that it’s not PSG, it’s a different match, a different atmosphere, it’s a completely different ball game. We go there confident but if we’re going to win it’s probably going to be different to how we did it in Paris. For us now we need to forget about the past. We know we’ve done it before, but all the focus has to be on how we’re going to do it again because they’re a strong team.”

It’s an exciting occasion isn’t it - facing Barca at the Nou Camp in a Champions League quarter-final, second leg…
“Yeah exactly, it’s a big game, but we’ve prepared for it in the right way. I don’t think we can go there trying to score straight away, I think we have to take our time and understand it’s a 90-minute game and I’m sure the manager will reassure us on that.”

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