RASHFORD NETS BRACE AGAIN AS BARCELONA DOMINATE OLYMPIACOS IN UCL CLASH
Marcus Rashford shines for Barcelona, scoring another brace in a 6-1 UCL rout of Olympiacos. The Manchester United loanee now leads the Champions League in goal involvements, revitalising his career in Catalonia.
As the Manchester United misfit continues to shine for his new team, Barcelona, in Champions League action, Marcus Rashford has scored another brace.
At the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Tuesday night, the Catalan team showed no mercy to their away team, Olympiacos, as they won handily 6-1.
The Manchester-born attacker, who scored twice to start his team's Champions League campaign on a high note in their opening encounter against Newcastle last month, was at the centre of yet another spectacular evening in Europe.
Hansi Flick's team was back to winning ways at home despite being pinned back by Paris Saint-Germain on their second matchday. Rashford's goals in the 74th and 79th minutes sealed the deal with Barcelona already leading 4-1.
Nevertheless, Rashford's goals gave him a remarkable new accomplishment, as the England international now leads the field in goal involvements for the tournament.
Rashford contributed five times in Europe's top division, including helping teammate Fermin Lopez against the Paris giants.
Marcus Rashford once again made an impression as Barcelona easily defeated Olympiacos at home.
The 27-year-old is currently the Champions League player with the most goal involvements.
His teammate Lopez, who scored a hat-trick and became the first Spaniard to do so for Barcelona in Champions League history, took centre stage despite being at the top of the goal involvement tree.
After temporarily leaving his boyhood club during the summer, Rashford has found newfound energy and has already scored five goals and provided five assists in 11 games for the Blaugrana.
Rashford is thought to have set a lofty personal goal for himself during a rapid start in Catalonia, demonstrating his determination to make a creative contribution.
The 27-year-old, who has only produced 27 assists in his last three Manchester United campaigns, is preparing to record between 30 and 40 assists in all competitions while wearing the Barcelona colours.
After failing to connect with new Man United boss Ruben Amorim, Rashford spent the second half of the 2024–25 season on loan at Aston Villa, where he also had a spike in form.
The midfielder seemed to attribute the Red Devils' recent on-field setbacks to the "inconsistent environment" at Old Trafford.
In the ITV interview, Rashford acknowledged that he personally wanted to "be at his best" by finding "consistency" in his game. Roy Keane, a former Manchester United player, stated that he thought the player was "part of the problem" at the club due to continuous unrest off the pitch.
Keane contended that he ought to have been establishing the norms and demonstrating to newcomers what it means to be a United player. However, that has been extensively documented. We must consider the fact that he earned this opportunity with England.
His brilliance is undeniable; he is truly amazing. However, his body language—not running back or pressing correctly—is what would have irritated fans.
With Flick's squad visiting the Bernabeu on Sunday for the first of the two sides' legendary meetings this season, Rashford will now focus on his first Clasico.
ARSENAL POCKET INSANE £125.18M FOLLOWING CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL QUALIFICATION
Mikel Arteta's side has added £15.97m to their cash reserves, eclipsing the total earned by current champions PSG last year.
Arsenal have added another £15.97 million to their UEFA prize money haul after securing a spot in the Champions League final with a win against Atletico Madrid. They are set to face either Bayern Munich or the current champions, Paris Saint-Germain, in Budapest on May 30, aiming for their first-ever triumph in this prestigious competition.
Beyond that, there’s an additional £5.61 million up for grabs in Hungary later this month. But up to now, Arsenal have amassed an eye-watering £125.18 million in Champions League prize money this season alone. A place in next season’s European Super Cup also carries a potential reward of around £3.45 million. It’s been a remarkable European run under Mikel Arteta, with the team dominating the group stage by winning all eight matches.
From the very beginning, the club benefited from the initial distribution of TV revenue and the rankings pool, which together amounted to £49.6 million. Even before the knockout rounds kicked off, Arsenal had already secured £85.3 million in prize money.
That total doesn’t even cover the bonuses linked to their on-field success, as each of their eight victories in the group stage brought in roughly £15.8 million altogether.
By finishing first out of 36 group-phase clubs, Arsenal earned an extra £8.6 million, and progressing straight to the round of 16 as one of the top eight teams secured them another £11.3 million.
They continued their strong run by eliminating Bayer Leverkusen after a 1-1 draw away and a 2-0 win at the Emirates, which added £10.8 million more to their earnings.
Overcoming Sporting CP in the quarter-finals also brought a £10.8 million bonus. While Arsenal’s motivation isn’t just financial, this level of income certainly aids in meeting profit and sustainability rules and other financial fair play criteria.
It’s also likely to support their summer transfer budget, as sporting director Andrea Berta looks to build on Arteta’s squad.
Last season, Arsenal took home £98.63 million after reaching the semi-finals before falling to PSG.
PSG, who went on to win the title, collected about £124.62 million last year, so Arsenal have now already surpassed that figure.
Meanwhile, UEFA has set aside a record £2.13 billion in prize money for the 2025-26 Champions League season, highlighting the competition’s growing financial stakes.
JAN OBLAK CONFESSES ATLETICO WERE "AFRAID TO PLAY" AGAINST ARSENAL
Following their Champions League exit, skipper Jan Oblak analysed where Atletico went wrong and paid tribute to Griezmann.
Jan Oblak didn’t hold back after Atletico Madrid crashed out of the Champions League against Arsenal. He said straight up that the team just didn’t do enough to earn a spot in the final. Sure, he’s proud of how far the squad has come recently, but the way they went out still stings.
Oblak was pretty open about where things went wrong, especially after the first leg, when Atletico failed to take an advantage back to London. “I'm disappointed, just like all the fans. Honestly, I can’t find the words. We didn’t do enough to be in the final, and it’s just a tough moment. We had our chances to win, but we didn’t take them. All that’s left is to congratulate Arsenal.”
He didn’t stop there, either. Speaking to CBS Golazo, Oblak was even more direct about the team’s mentality, especially in the first half of both matches. He felt Atletico were hesitant, too respectful of Arsenal, and afraid to play. Both times, they fell behind before halftime and then tried to play catch-up, but it was always a little too late. “This has happened several times this season,” Oblak said, “and while we’ve managed to win those games before, not today when it mattered most.”
On the flip side, Oblak did give some credit to the young players and the growth the team’s shown, especially after a couple of big summers that saw a huge part of the squad change. “The last two seasons, we’ve switched out something like 15 players. A lot of young guys with not much experience came in. They did great in the cup, and they’ve held up in the Champions League too. In the league, we weren’t good enough for the biggest matches, but I’m proud of how the younger ones are growing. Still, when the goal is to win a title, and you don’t, you can’t call it a success. All we can do is look forward and hope we’ll be fighting for trophies next season.”
Saying goodbye to Antoine Griezmann made this exit even sadder for Oblak and the rest of the squad. Griezmann’s heading to Orlando City this summer, bringing the curtain down on his Champions League career with Atletico. “Everyone’s going to miss Griezi; he’s an incredible player and a great guy. The kind of person who’s always smiling, always positive, and does things on the pitch nobody else can. We’ll miss him a lot; the fans will miss him, but he deserves nothing but the best wherever he goes.”
At 33, Oblak is one of Atletico’s true leaders, right behind Koke for the captain’s armband. Alongside Jose Maria Gimenez and Marcos Llorente, he’s been a
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