Barcelona beat Newcastle, Haaland nets landmark goal as Man.City see off Napoli

Marcus Rashford scored twice as Barcelona kicked off their Champions League bid with a 2-1 victory away to Newcastle United on Thursday, while Erling Haaland notched his 50th goal in the competition in Manchester City’s win over Napoli

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The third consecutive evening of action in the first round of games in this season’s league phase also saw Eintracht Frankfurt, Sporting Lisbon and Club Brugge record big wins while FC Copenhagen held Bayer Leverkusen.

Rashford was still looking for his first Barcelona goals following his July loan move from Manchester United, and he got off the mark by heading in Jules Kounde's cross just before the hour at St James' Park.

The England international then doubled the Spanish champions' lead with a ferocious right-foot shot from outside the area high into the top corner midway through the second half.

Anthony Gordon pulled one back for Newcastle, but Barcelona -- beaten in the semifinals last season -- held on to claim their first three points of the campaign.

"It's an amazing experience playing for Barcelona. I've always been a huge admirer of the club, We just want to win as much as possible,” Rashford said.

Pep Guardiola’s City, the 2023 Champions League winners, got off to an ideal start too as they saw off Serie A champions Napoli, claiming a 2-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium.