‘He’s smiling a lot’: Rashford is enjoying himself again at Barcelona, insists Flick

Hansi Flick has said that joining Barcelona on loan from Manchester United and experiencing life in a new country has put the smile back on Marcus Rashford’s face. The forward was out of favour at United last season but he has found fresh momentum since moving to Spain. Rashford has made a positive impression for Barça, scoring six times in all competitions this season, and Flick is relieved that the England international is fit to face Chelsea in the Champions League on Tuesday night after missing his side’s win over Athletic Bilbao on Saturday with a cold. Related: Estêvão ready to rival Lamine Yamal in battle of the teenage prodigies “I’m really very happy,” the Barcelona manager said. “He came back from a cold, but he’s OK. We’ll decide tomorrow if he starts or not. But I’m happy to have him in our team. “I followed him his whole career, I was impressed with his quality, what he’s doing in the box in front of the opponent’s goal. He has shown it in Barcelona. Also for him this change to live in another culture, with fantastic people, nice weather, it’s amazing. We can see now he’s also smiling a lot. If he can enjoy the atmosphere we have it’s also very good.” Barcelona are above Chelsea on goal difference after taking seven points from their first four games in the league phase. The Spanish champions have travelled to London without Pedri but have been boosted by the Brazil winger Raphinha returning to fitness. Much of the focus is on whether Estêvão Willian, Chelsea’s 18-year-old Brazilian winger, can outshine Lamine Yamal. Marc Cucurella knows Lamine Yamal well and joked that he has been preparing for the task of marking his international teammate by upping the intensity on the training ground. “I tell Estêvão to put shin pads on in training,” the Chelsea left-back said. Chelsea will be without Cole Palmer, who is wearing a protective boot after breaking a toe in an accident at home last week. The playmaker is back in training but Enzo Maresca said that Palmer is unlikely to be fit to face Arsenal on Sunday. Maresca, who played in Spain, was asked if he has ambitions to manage Barcelona one day. “You know me because you are always in my press conference,” the Italian said. “Even when you ask me what’s happening in three or four months, I always say I don’t know. I’m very happy to be at this huge club, one of the best clubs in the world, and this is the most important thing.”