FC Barcelona got an all-important victory in their last La Liga match against Mallorca, and the press has been filled with praises for two players in particular for this triumph, Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi.
Lamine Yamal scored the only goal of the match, and thus directly contributed to his side’s victory. On the other end of the pitch, Pau Cubarsi was instrumental in keeping Mallorca attackers at bay and put in a very impressive display against vastly more experienced opponents.
Anyone watching the match would have recognized the degree of Cubarsi’s contribution to his team’s win. But as Mundo Deportivo has noted, statistics provided by Opta also go on to show just how much of an impact the youngster had on the game.
The defender played the full ninety minutes and the injury time added in this match, and during this time, made 93 touches on the ball. In this aspect, he ranked third in the team, trailing only Jules Kounde’s 119 touches and Ilkay Gundogan’s 105 touches. These statistics go on to show the high degree of involvement from the youngster in this game.
Cubarsi was also highly impressive with his passing, as he stood second in the team in the number of passes made. His 79 passes were less only than Kounde’s 95, but Cubarsi’s passes were almost perfect as he registered a 93.7% success rate in this regard.
His defensive contributions were also key for Barcelona to win this game, as he made three tackles, two of which were successful, won two aerial duels, made one block, recovered 14 balls, and lost possession zero times. He committed two fouls in this game and also got a yellow card to tarnish his record a bit.
But overall, there is no doubt that this was a performance to remember from the young defender. His heroics led the Barcelona supporters to chant his name from the stands, and hopefully, he can continue to put in similar performances and be a key part of the team’s defense for years to come.
