Manchester United may be absent from this season's Champions League, but they do boast a representative in the shape of Marcus Rashford. The England striker is on loan at Barcelona, although the arrangement could still become permanent this summer, and he found the net once more on Wednesday evening.

Rashford emerged from the substitutes' bench to net Barcelona's fourth strike as they overturned a deficit to secure a 4-1 win over FC Copenhagen in their final league phase match. The result proved vital in propelling them directly into the round of 16 without requiring a play-off, with either Monaco, Qarabag, Paris Saint-Germain or Newcastle awaiting.

Viktor Dadason struck early to give the Danish outfit the advantage, which they maintained until half-time. Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha all found the target after the interval to complete the turnaround, before Rashford entered the fray and curled a late free-kick past Copenhagen goalkeeper Dominik Kotarski.

Following the victory, Rashford said: "We try to bring our best performances in the competition and we try to win," and "So I think this is the aim for a club like Barca and we have this mentality to win all the games that we can, so we'll do our best to do this."

Rashford's strike marked his fifth Champions League goal this term, establishing him as Barcelona's joint-leading marksman in this season's tournament alongside Fermin Lopez. He garnered coverage in the Spanish press following the match, earning him a comparison to a Barcelona great.

Marca

Penning his thoughts in Marca, Fernando Carnerero's worries mainly centred on the opening period, prior to Rashford's involvement.

"Barca continues to achieve its season objectives with a steady hand, though not without some struggles," Carnerero wrote. "While some concerns remain, such as the excessive number of goals conceded, their attacking prowess minimises this problem and gets them out of many tight spots.

"In the Champions League group stage, the first goal was to reach the top eight - to avoid playing two extra matches in the packed February schedule - and they achieved this after defeating Copenhagen with much more effort than expected, as the score was a surprising 0-1 at halftime. They went all out in the second half and it paid off thanks to goals from Lewandowski, Lamine, Raphinha, and Rashford. This may not always be the case in later rounds and against tougher opponents."

Mundo Deportivo

Laura Aparicio described Rashford's free-kick as "spectacular" in Mundo Deportivo. Yet, the comeback triumph was predominantly "The talent and brilliance of Lamine [Yamal], who carried the team on his shoulders."

The same outlet assigned player ratings to each of Barcelona's squad, including those who - like Rashford - only featured for part of the fixture. The England international received the single-word assessment of 'sniper' after executing his late free-kick flawlessly.

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Xavier Munoz wrote: "His fifth Champions League goal made him Barca's joint European top scorer with Fermín," and "He achieved it with a stunning free kick, the fourth for the club since Messi's departure. The crossbar denied him another brace."

AS

Santi Gimenez's analysis for AS even mentioned Lionel Messi. The assessment read: "Barca continued their search for goals and Rashford managed to break the curse of direct free-kick goals since Messi left, scoring [to make it] 4-1 in that way."

This marked the first occasion any Barcelona player had converted a direct free-kick in the Champions League since 2019, when Messi scored during the opening leg of their semi-final against Liverpool. Writing in the same outlet, Sergi de Juan observed that the Catalan side required 50 attempts between those two free-kick goals.

"Marcus Rashford achieved against Copenhagen what seemed impossible at Barcelona since Leo Messi's departure: scoring a free kick," he wrote. "The English striker had already proven himself a specialist in this type of play at Manchester United, but he hadn't yet had the opportunity to score one for the Catalan club.

"He finally did so in the last Champions League group stage match, drawing the foul himself. He curled the free kick over the wall to the near post, deceiving the goalkeeper."

Sport

Sport highlighted Rashford's double against Newcastle in September while analysing Barcelona's potential round of 16 opponents. "Real Madrid will be worn down for two weeks (in the play-offs), while Barca can rest while awaiting the round of 16," journalist Ferran Correas wrote.

"The Blaugrana know the names of the four teams they could face in the round of 16, including a tough opponent like the current champions, PSG. The other three are Newcastle, whom they already defeated away in the first match of this stage with a great performance from Rashford, Monaco, and Qarabag."

Jordi Gil made specific reference to Rashford's decisive strike, which crept in at the near post, writing in the same publication: "It was just a matter of running down the clock to secure a well-deserved European qualification in a Champions League that, in its first phase, has left a very positive impression. And even more so with Rashford's late free-kick goal."