FC Barcelona recently played their first preseason game of the tour in the United States of America. Playing against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, the current champions of England, Barça were presented with a formidable opponent. Fortunately, that is exactly the kind of challenge that Barcelona needed.
The game ended in a win for Barça on penalties following some very impressive displays from the youngsters representing La Blaugrana. Many new faces and familiar ones emerged to help the club, including the likes of Pablo Torre and new signing Pau Victor as well who ended up being crucial for both goals scored by Barcelona during the match.
Another player who stood out was the one that new Barcelona coach Hansi Flick trusted as his defensive midfielder. Marc Bernal, as highlighted by SPORT, proved that despite being just 17 years old, he remains a player that Barça can trust as their own homegrown pivot to help strengthen the pivot position next season.
Instead of looking at external and foreign players to fill that gap left by Sergio Busquets, Barça can look inside and find Bernal as a great candidate to take over that responsibility. Moreover, just like Busquets, the 17-year-old Bernal is also a product of Barça’s youth academy, and many within the club claim that he has a really high ceiling.
Already quite a tall and physical player, his playing style against Manchester City reportedly resembled that of Busquets. Apart from his physicality, something that the former Barcelona midfield maestro was hardly known for, Bernal possesses immense technical ability and also has the vision to play extraordinary passes while making them look simple.
During his time on the pitch against Manchester City, he was instrumental in scoring the first goal through his pass to Marc Casado, and he was also quite impressive both on and off the ball. By providing stability to the middle of the pitch and also initiating many of the team’s most promising offensive actions, Bernal may be the solution that Barcelona has been yearning for.
With the young midfielder now renewed until 2026, Barcelona can also rest assured about his allegiance. Moreover, given that Hansi Flick wants to specifically focus on La Masia and give more youngsters a chance, it would hardly be surprising to see Bernal gradually become even more important.
