Marcus Rashford emphasises Man Utd's heightened expectations as draw at Camp Nou still 'felt like a loss'

Marcus Rashford was underwhelmed by Manchester United's result against Barcelona on Thursday, saying the 2-2 draw felt like a defeat for his team.

Rashford crucial to 2-2 draw
Attacker not satisfied with result
Hopeful of victory in second leg

WHAT HAPPENED? Rashford netted his team's equaliser just two minutes after Barcelona took the lead in the first leg of the Europa League play-off at Camp Nou. The England star then sent the ball in the the danger area where Jules Kounde ended up knocking into his own net before Barca pulled level. Rashford feels his side deserved more from the clash, however, and was not pleased with the final result.

WHAT THEY SAID: "It felt like a loss. We did well to get back into the game, stayed calm and composed," he said to BT Sport. "We tried to create chances when we could and we scored two quick goals, then felt in control of the outcome, but they are a top team and managed to get an equaliser."

He added: "Hopefully the second leg is going to be another good game and we can go that one step further."

THE BIGGER PICTURE: The attacker's attitude is a sign of United's improvement under coach Erik ten Hag and the Red Devils are in a good position to progress in the Europa League by getting the better of the Catalan club in the return fixture next week. United's top scorer and coach Ten Hag felt hard done by on Thursday, too, with both complaining that Barca's Jules Kounde was not punished for a challenge on Rashford at 2-1.

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