FC Barcelona faced Tottenham Hotspurs in the Joan Gamper Trophy match last night, in which Blaugranes came out victorious with a 4-2 scoreline, despite going down in the first half of the match.
After an early goal from Robert Lewandowski, Barcelona were unable to score for a large stretch of the game. Meanwhile, Tottenham scored two goals in twelve minutes, both from their midfielder Oliver Skipp.
Barcelona’s fate was positively turned around when Xavi introduced youngsters into the match. Fati and Abde came on around the 60-minute mark, and Lamine Yamal was brought in at the 80th minute. These players, along with Torres and Fermin Lopez, changed the course of the match.
As reported by SPORT, the contributions and talents of these youngsters were recognized by FC Barcelona captains after the final whistle. Talking to TV3, both these players agreed that “They [ the youngsters ] have a lot of talent”.
Roberto also revealed that he had congratulated Yamal, who was involved in the latter three of Barcelona’s goals. Roberto expressed that:
“We need to be patient. I congratulated him during the match. It’s incredible what he’s capable of doing. He’s a game-changer, and I’m sure he’ll be with the club for many years and become a fundamental piece, but there’s no need to rush. We need to be patient.”
Roberto went on to further encourage the youngsters to keep on showing their talents:
“I encourage all the young players to keep going like this because they are working very well and have a special talent.”
The Barcelona captain also commented on the team’s objectives for the next season:
“Competing better in the Champions League is one of the main objectives after what happened last year. We have a good squad to compete for everything. As captain, lifting the trophy would be something special, even though I’m already fulfilling many dreams.”
Frenkie de Jong, the fourth captain of FC Barcelona, also praised the youngsters for their performance in the last game:
“The young players entered the match very well. They have a lot of talent. It’s something that always happens with La Masia players. They came in with energy and gave something extra to the team.”
De Jong also agreed with his teammate when talking about the team’s objectives for the next season:
“We are going to compete in all competitions because Barcelona always has to fight for all titles. But after a couple of years where we didn’t do well, we need to show that we can contend with the best in Europe.”
Thus, the youngsters at Barcelona have shown with certainty that they have the talent to help Barcelona, despite their tender ages. The club would naturally be patient with their growth and try not to rush them into action, but last night’s performance will convince Xavi to give these players a chance when possible.
