Redemption for Rashford in Barça victory, Haaland hits UCL half-century

Rashford announces Barça arrival, Haaland rewrites UCL history.

Marcus Rashford marked his Barcelona debut with a brilliant brace in a 2-1 win over Newcastle United at St James’ Park. The former Manchester United forward headed in the opener before smashing a second to become only the second Englishman, after Gary Lineker, to score for Barça in Europe. Anthony Gordon pulled one back late, but it was Rashford’s night — a statement performance after leaving Old Trafford in the summer.

Erling Haaland, meanwhile, became the fastest player to reach 50 Champions League goals, doing so in just 49 matches as Manchester City beat Napoli 2-0. His header set City on their way before Jeremy Doku added a second against the 10-man Italians, who saw Giovanni Di Lorenzo sent off early. Kevin De Bruyne’s return to the Etihad with Napoli added an emotional subplot, met with warm applause from City fans.

Elsewhere, Eintracht Frankfurt blitzed Galatasaray 5-1 with four goals in 29 minutes, teenager Can Uzun scoring on debut. Sporting eased past Kairat Almaty 4-1, Francisco Trincao netting twice, while Bayer Leverkusen needed a stoppage-time own goal to snatch a 2-2 draw at Copenhagen.