Direct set-piece curse finally broken in Europe
Have Barcelona finally found their free-kick solution after Messi? Rashford delivers
Marcus Rashford scored Barcelona’s first direct free-kick goal in years ending a long drought against Copenhagen in Champions League.
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A historic curse finally broken
Barcelona finally ended one of their most surprising scoring droughts after Marcus Rashford found the net from direct free kick against Copenhagen in Champions League.
The goal brought an end to a long wait that had lasted 640 day and included 67 unsuccessful attempt since Barcelona’s previous free-kick goal scored by Robert Lewandowski against Valencia in La Liga.
Even more striking it was Barcelona’s first direct free-kick goal in European competition for 2,465 day dating back to Lionel Messi’s famous strike against Liverpool on 1 May 2019 in Champions League semi-final.
Raphinha struggles despite “Expert” label
The drought highlighted area where Barcelona have clearly missed Messi’s special ability.
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Raphinha often described as free-kick specialist, failed to score from any of his 35 direct free-kick attempts over the past two season.
Since joining the club, the Brazilian winger has taken 66 free kicks without scoring making it one of the few parts of his game that has not clicked in Barcelona shirt.
Other players including Lamine Yamal, Lewandowski, Dani Olmo, and Ferran Torres, also tried their luck but could not break the run.
Rashford delivers the breakthrough
Rashford ended the dry spell with his 10th free-kick attempt for Barcelona curling brilliant effort beyond the Copenhagen goalkeeper.
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The strike marked major moment for the club, not only because it decided an important Champions League match but also because it reopened scoring route Barcelona had not used successfully for years.
Messi’s legacy still stands
During his time at Barcelona, Messi was the club’s greatest free-kick scorer netting 50 direct free-kick goal as part of his 670 total goals.
Since his departure, Barcelona have struggled to find consistent replacement for that weapon.
