St.James' Park may have reverberated to "Back in Black" before kick-off, but as he had done at Wembley two years earlier, Marcus Rashford left Newcastle thunderstruck on Thursday evening.

Banished from Old Trafford, the England international twice served up precision finishes within ten second half minutes to get off the mark in style for his latest club, kick-starting a career that had stuttered before almost coming to a standstill with last season's unproductive loan to Aston Villa.

Getting ahead of Fabian Schar - who looked to be suffering the effects of the ball hitting him in the face moments earlier, Rashford's stunning second looked to have ended the game as a contest until Anthony Gordon halved the deficit in the closing seconds of normal time

Gordon began the night leading a front three with Anthony Elanga on the right and Harvey Barnes on the left, but was repositioned on the left wing by the time he met Jacob Murphy's low centre from the other flank and clipped the ball home from 12 yards.

Last season's Champions League semi-finalists withstood fierce early pressure on and off the field; every tackle and block from a home player greeted with full-throated roars from the stands.

Aside from Gordon's fifth minute air shot from six yards though, the nearest that the home side came to scoring during that period was another tempting by Elanga that Barnes sprinted forward to reach in the 23rd minute, only to see his first-time effort ping off the boot of goalkeeper Joan Garcia.

No goal came before the break though and a half ended with the visitors enjoying two thirds of possession but without truly testing Nick Pope, whose familiar back four had already put in a significant shift to nullify a stellar forward line and the prodigious presence of midfielder Pedri.

Barcelona's dominance increased following the interval without creating clear scoring chances until Rashford's brace came in a nine minute spell - his opener coming just seconds before the point at which Patrick Kluivert had broken Geordie hearts here in the 2003 meeting. That night it was Craig Bellamy's profligacy in front of goal that had prevented United from holding a half-time lead.  

Conceding the first goal prompted Eddie Howe into a quartet of substitutions that included Nick Woltemade on at centre forward. The groggy Schar meanwhile made way for Malick Thiaw, who although making only his second United appearance is something of a Champions League veteran. 

The defender instantly looked at home with timely touches at both ends of the field, ending the night playing alongside Sven Botman - a pairing that will hopefully serve the club well for years to come.

At 0-2 the Magpies continued to struggle; time spent out of possession leading to a lack of composure when belatedly regaining it, which also had the effect of quietening the crowd.

And although the lifeline of Gordon's goal raised hopes among those who hadn't deserted their seats, the experience that repeated exposure to such situations brings was evident across the Barcelona side - mixing gamesmanship and time-wasting with the timeless talent of ball retention.

There's no disgrace in defeat to such prestigious opposition and the nature of the competition means that this result wasn't catastrophic, but on a night when United needed to make the most of the few chances that came their way, the current issues of creating and scoring goals were evident - something not helped by another game when set piece situations were instantly forgettable.

Gordon's strike will hopefully be a confidence booster, but the injury sidelining Yoane Wissa puts pressure on the rest of the side to compensate for his absence. That hasn't happened yet. 

Biffa