17-year-old debutant Marc Guiu secured a dramatic victory for Barcelona over Athletic Club on Sunday. Guiu, a surprise addition to the squad, made the most of his senior-level opportunity when he came on as a substitute in the 79th minute. With just his second touch in La Liga, he raced through on goal and calmly side-footed the ball past Spain’s number one goalkeeper, Unai Simon....For More CONTINUE THE FULL READING▶▶
This win brings Barcelona within just one point of La Liga leaders Real Madrid, setting the stage for the upcoming El Clasico next week.
The game began with impressive link-up play between Ferran Torres and Joao Felix, nearly resulting in a goal after only ten minutes. Felix’s first-time effort hit the crossbar, denying them an early lead. Fermin Lopez had another opportunity soon after, but his well-placed shot was saved by Unai Simon.
Inaki Williams, in fine form, tested Barcelona’s goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen with a stunning volleyed shot from the edge of the penalty area in the 20th minute.
Barcelona started the second half aggressively, with Simon making two excellent saves in quick succession. Lamine Yamal, a substitute, missed a golden opportunity to put Barcelona ahead, firing wide with only the goalkeeper to beat.
The crucial goal came in the 80th minute, and it was from an unexpected source. In his Barcelona senior debut, 17-year-old Marc Guiu received a through ball from Felix and calmly slotted it into the net from the right side of the penalty area, sliding the ball under Simon’s body.
GK: Marc-Andre ter Stegen – 7/10 – Made a few very good saves late in the first half to stop the Williams brothers.
RB: Joao Cancelo – 6/10 – Had a tough time of it at times defensively up against Nico, but got forward well when he got the chance.
CB: Andreas Christensen – 5/10 – Struggled to deal with the pace Athletic possessed up top.
CB: Inigo Martinez – 7/10 – His long passes out of defence were a joy to behold throughout.
LB: Alejandro Balde – 6/10 – Caused problems with his lung-bursting runs into the final third. Created the best chance of the first half.
CM: Gavi – 6/10 – Booked as per. Worked hard as per too.
CM: Oriol Romeu – 5/10 – Used the ball well when in possession, but caught a few too many times by Athletic Club’s pace in transition.
CM: Ilkay Gundogan – 7/10 – Barely put a foot wrong all evening so, in other words, a typical Gundogan performance.
RW: Fermin Lopez – 6/10 – Lively but just lacked a bit of quality when he got into the box, missing a few decent chances during the game.
ST: Ferran Torres – 6/10 – Linked up well with Felix at times, setting the Portugual star when he hit the crossbar early on.
LW: Joao Felix – 9/10 – The best player on the pitch. Bar none. At the heart of everything Barca did in the final third, setting up the winning goal late on.
SUB: Ronald Araujo (’60 for Christensen) – 6/10.
SUB: Lamine Yamal (’60 for Romeu) – 6/10 – Missed a great chance to score when introduced…..CONTINUE.FULL.READING>>>
