Man Utd star on loan irks his manager, punished after coming late to training

Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford was left out of Barcelona’s starting line-up to face Getafe on Sunday night after arriving late to training on the morning of the game, according to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo.

The Red Devils academy graduate was the hero for the La Liga club in their Champions League opener against Newcastle United on Thursday, grabbing a brace in the 2-1 victory.

Rashford was hoping to continue from where he stopped during the week and was expected to be named in the starting line-up.

However, Barca head coach Hansi Flick has a policy of not selecting players to start a game if they arrive late to the training session or team meeting preceding the match.

The likes of Inaki Pena, Jules Kounde and Raphinha have been punished and dropped from Barca XI in the past because of lateness.

Not many would have been expecting Rashford to show any lack of discipline at a club he is hoping to secure a permanent move to at the end of his loan spell.

Just like Raphinha came on at half-time against Valencia last weekend after getting dropped for lateness, the Man United-owned forward also got a chance off the bench ahead of second-half last night.

While he did not open his La Liga account, he assisted Dani Olmo for the final goal in the 3-0 victory and will hope to make the starting XI in the next game.

Having arrived late to his own signing announcement, Rashford cannot afford to make lateness a recurring theme at Barca if he wants to remain in the good books of Flick.

A lack of discipline cost him his Man United career, with both Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim punishing him for it, and he needs to ensure his past does not catch up with him on his road to redemption.

Article written by Alani Adefunmiloye .