There had been talk of Marcus Rashford re-discovering the talent and belief he had put down somewhere and struggled to pick up. Talk of Barcelona manager Hansi Flick making it his project to restore him, make him take defenders on more and become as dangerous crossing with his left foot as his right.
For an hour or so on Thursday night, it was hard to locate much evidence of that. A few incisive early touches before he began drift into dead ends, halted in his tracks by Newcastle United’s Kieran Trippier or, in one brief moment of first half promise, running the ball out of play.