"We can hurt them" - Manchester United star Marcus Rashford issues bold statement ahead of second leg clash against Barcelona at Old Trafford

Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford has sent a warning to Spanish opponents Barcelona ahead of their crunch second leg encounter in the UEFA Europa League next week.

He made this known in the wake of his club's 2-2 draw against Barca at the Camp Nou Stadium in the first leg on Thursday, February 16.

Rashford was among the standout performers during the encounter and was on the scoresheet as he drew United level in the 52nd minute. The English forward also forced an own-goal from Barca defender Jules Kounde in the 59th minute, before Raphinha equalized to salvage a point for the home side.

The result now sets up what is expected to be a thrilling encounter in the second leg at Old Trafford on February 23.

Meanwhile, Rashord has expressed his disappointment with the result at Camp Nou and revealed that Manchester United should have gotten more than a draw in the game. He also reacted to some of the decisions by the match referee that didn't go in his favor.

"I feel like in the circumstances today it was disappointing, I felt like we were in good shape and we were hurting them," he said.

He continued:

"It was a massive moment for me at 2-1, it’s a foul, it was outside the box. It's a red card and it changes the dynamics of the game. I don't understand why the referee thinks that I'm going down. I’m one-on-one with the ‘keeper, there’s no gain for me to go down, so I’m confused with that decision."

Ahead of the second-leg showdown next week, Rashord has come out to state boldly that Manchester United can hurt their opponents Barcelona at Old Trafford.

"We have to move on now," he continued. "[This] is a result that we can take back. We can definitely take back the performance. We have a league game in between but for the next game we know we can hurt them."

A win for either side next week will automatically secure their passage into the next round of the 2022-23 UEFA Europa League competition.

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Manchester United forward reacts to his lovely strike against Barcelona

Marcus Rashford continued his impressive run in front of goal this season with yet another sublime finish against Barcelona in the Europa League.

The Manchester United striker squeezed his shot past Barca shot-stopper Marc-Andre ter Stegen from close range in the 52nd minute to score his 22nd goal of the season.

Reacting to the strike, Rashford revealed that he didn't have many options in terms of finishing, prior to his goal.

"To be honest, I didn't have that many options in terms of type of finishes," he added. "It's either, go high to the near post or go low and I just felt maybe more of a chance going low from that angle."

He concluded:

"I just made my mind up and just ran through it and thankfully it went in."

Meanwhile, prior to the second leg game against Barcelona, Manchester United will lock horns with Leicester City in the Premier League on Sunday, February 19.