Barcelona have been blessed with some of the best attacking and midfield talents over the last several decades. Even in terms of central defenders, La Blaugrana are no slouches when it comes to possessing historic quality and legendary stars, yet certain positions have been a bit unlucky for FC Barcelona somehow.
One area in particular where Barcelona definitely have had little luck over the last few years is that of the right-back position. Since Dani Alves, the Catalan giants have failed to bring in a specialist right-back for that particular position.
Yet, after many failures in their quest to do so, the Catalan giants have finally brought in a right-back of elite quality within the team, albeit temporarily. The player in question is none other than Manchester City loanee Joao Cancelo, whose recent performance against Real Betis has left many beyond amazed.
As highlighted by Spanish outlet SPORT, Cancelo provided not just an immense presence when he arrived from Manchester City, but there is a reason that Xavi Hernandez and FC Barcelona had him as their primary priority heading into this season for their right-back position.
During the 5-0 thrashing of Real Betis, the current Barcelona fullback provided much joy to fans of La Blaugrana. His very first contribution towards a goal came quite early on, as his aggressive recovery enabled Barcelona to take back possession from Betis and consequently allowed Oriol Romeu to dispatch the cross that led to Joao Felix’s opener.
First Goal for Barcelona
Next came his direct goal in the 81st minute of the game, where the Portuguese star left former Barcelona player Juan Miranda sprawled up trying to find his footing as Cancelo faked him with his strong left foot and then struck a powerful shot with his right that went directly into the bottom corner of the Betis goal.
A delight to watch
Beyond just the goals, however, Cancelo was an absolute joy to behold with his incredible dribbling prowess and technical superiority over those around him. A particular play saw several Barcelona players hand out nutmegs to the Betis players, with Cancelo’s rollback causing particular excitement among the crowd at the Montjuic Stadium.
While he is only a Barcelona player until the end of the 2023/24 season due to his loan duration, Cancelo is proving himself to be one of the best transfers in recent memory and is showcasing alongside Joao Felix that their abilities will be quite the asset for Barca this season given their high aspirations.
