Barcelona thrash Daegu and Rashford scores his first goal

English striker Marcus Rashford scored his first goal for Spanish side Barcelona during the Catalan team’s emphatic 5-0 friendly win over hosts Daegu of South Korea, wrapping up their Asian tour.

In his third appearance for Barcelona since joining them last month on loan from Manchester United, Rashford came on after halftime and found the net in the 65th minute with a shot from the edge of the box after receiving a pass from defender Eric Garcia.

Also scoring for “Barça” were young midfielder Gavi (21′ and 45+1′) and Polish striker Robert Lewandowski (27′), while youngster Antonio Fernandez added the fourth goal early in the second half (53′).

Although he didn’t score, young star Lamine Yamal stood out on several occasions, including delivering the assist for Gavi’s opener and forcing the goalkeeper into multiple saves.

German coach Hansi Flick made 11 substitutions at halftime in a match played under heavy rain, which Barcelona completely dominated, not allowing their opponent a single shot on target throughout the ninety minutes. Flick also made several second-half changes, most notably introducing Swedish winger of Syrian origin, Roony Bardghji (19 years old), who drew attention after joining from Denmark’s Copenhagen this summer and made a strong case as one of the wing options for Flick.

Meanwhile, Gavi continued his impressive form with Barcelona during the Asian pre-season tour, becoming the team’s top scorer with three goals, affirming his readiness for the new season.

Gavi told the club’s channel that the Catalan team returns from this tour with extremely positive impressions, noting that the preparation period was strong on all levels.

He added that last season’s La Liga champions hope to maintain the same momentum moving forward, a sentiment he shares personally, expressing his desire to continue contributing to the club.

For his part, Barcelona defender Gerard Martin expressed his happiness with his participation and his positive assessment of the three matches the team played in Asia, confirming that the tour helped the players regain rhythm, cohesion, and gradually build up physically to a higher level.

He added that he played the last match at centre-back alongside Uruguayan Ronald Araújo, even though he was previously used to playing with a three-man backline.

Martin explained that the situation within the team is now different, noting that he is quickly adapting to the team’s requirements and the technical staff’s instructions.

Barcelona had previously beaten Vissel Kobe 3-1 in Japan, then FC Seoul 7-3 in South Korea, and will face Italy’s Como on August 10 in the annual Joan Gamper Trophy (the club’s founder’s cup), before beginning their La Liga title defense away to Mallorca on the 16th.