It is not uncommon for FC Barcelona to call upon their youth from La Masia in times of need and desperation. Often in the past have they answered the call for help dutifully and Barcelona have been able to consequently produce some of the greatest homegrown talents the world of football has ever seen.
The likes of Lionel Messi too have once made their debut for Barcelona when called upon from the academy to provide aid to a depleted Barcelona first team, and the rest is history as most say. However, it is not to say that these talents will have to amount to the almost alien standards created by Lionel Messi, but they have the footsteps of several greats to guide them.
And just as Messi once made his competitive debut in the Montjuic Stadium in 2004, another Barcelona pearl has received his first-ever official start for the Barcelona first team at the very same stadium, 16-year-old Lamine Yamal.
As highlighted by Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, it ended up being Lamine Yamal who Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez ended up calling upon in the need to replace the suspended Raphinha and the young gem did not disappoint at any point.
Dazzling to watch as he continued to unnerve the Cadiz CF defense, putting them on the back foot again and again with his trickery and quick foot movement. His passes into the box were exquisite and so were his crosses, some of which deserved a much better end product than they ended up receiving from his Barcelona teammates.
In terms of numbers, the player played a total of 85 minutes for FC Barcelona during which he had two attempts at goal, one of which would have stood as a goal on any other day had Conan Ledesma not pulled off one of the saves of the season.
Moreover, he created one potential goal-threatening chance as well as having 58 touches during the game. The player made a total of 40 passes out of which 34 were accurate and 24 were in the final third, showcasing a majority of them to have been progressive passes to his Barcelona teammates.
Both the shots from the Barcelona youngsters were also on target and he also completed 3 dribbles during the game out of the 4 that he attempted, showcasing impressive numbers. He also attempted one tackle that ended up being successful while also successfully making one interception.
Lastly, from the 8 duels on the ground that he participated in, he ended up winning 4 of them, showcasing good numbers in terms of both offensive contributions as well as defensive contributions.
The game in general, where Barcelona ended up emerged as 2-0 victors, will be one to remember for the 16-year-old La Masia prodigy, and should he keep these performances up for the first team, it may not be too long before he becomes a key part of Xavi’s Barcelona.
