Moments to remember
17-year-old debutant Marc Guiu scored his second La Liga goal in Barcelona’s win over Athletic Club on Sunday night.
The teenager was a surprise addition to this weekend’s game and made the most of his senior’s opportunity when he was brought on in the 79th minute.
He raced towards goal, beating Spain’s No.1 Unai Simon.
With this win, Barcelona can widen the gap to La Liga leaders Real Madrid in next week’s El Clásico.
How did the game go?
There was some interesting interplay between Ferran Torres and Joao Felix in the early stages of the game, leading to a goal after 10 minutes.
After Inigo Martínez found a wonderful ball inside Athletic Club’s defence, Ferran broke into the penalty area and slotted a pass into the path of Felix.
But when the tenant first tried the gate, he found only the tip of the rope and it went over his head.
Three minutes later, youngster Fermin Lopez almost made it 1-0.
This time Alejandro Balde ran down the left flank and cut the ball back to Fermin inside the penalty area.
Fermin, unlike Felix, scored his first goal down low but saw Unai Simon’s shot well blocked in the net.
Barça were denied a missed chance by Inaki Williams in the 20th minute before Marc-Andre ter Stegen made a smart save on the edge of the box.
Ter Stegen was summoned by Inaki’s brother Nico before the break. The Barcelona star stuck out his left foot to stop the 21-year-old’s powerful, low shot deflecting into the bottom corner of the net.
Barcelona came out of the trap with real intent at the start of the second half with Simon making two very quick saves.
The Spaniard first got down low to block Ferran’s shot and then brilliantly blocked Fermin’s effort from eight yards.
After an hour, substitute Lamine Yamal missed a golden opportunity to put Barcelona ahead.
The teenager ran up the field and was well spotted by Felix, but Yamal failed to hit the crossbar as it only hit the goalkeeper.
It was hit at the foot of the right post.
An unexpected source suggests the goal could come in the 80th minute.
On 17-year-old Marc Giou’s Barcelona debut and second touch of the ball, Felix made no mistake as he found the ball and finished on the right side of the box, getting under Simon’s body and into the goal.
Evaluation of Barcelona players
GK: Marc-Andre ter Stegen – 7/10 – Made a great save to deny the Williams brothers late in the first half.
RB: Joao Cancelo – 6/10 – Struggles defensively against Nico at times but did well when given the chance.
CB: Andreas Christensen – 5/10 – Struggling to keep up with Athletic at the top of the table.
CB: Inigo Martinez – 7/10 – His long passes in defense were pleasing.
LB: Alejandro Balde – 6/10 – Suffered a ruptured lung in the final third.
We created the best chance in the first half.
CM: Gavi – 6/10 – I ordered custom.
So he worked hard.
CM: Oriol Romeu – 5/10 – Used the ball well in possession but was caught several times by Athletic Club’s speed in transition.
CM: Ilkay Gundogan – 7/10 – A typical Gundogan performance with hardly a misstep throughout the evening.
RW: Fermin Lopez – 6/10 – Lively but lacked quality when entering the box and missed a few decent chances throughout the game.
ST: Ferran Torres – 6/10 – Worked well with Felix at times and set up the Portuguese star early on.
LW: Joao Felix – 9/10 – Best player on the pitch.
There is no band.
The key to everything Barcelona did in the final third was scoring the winning goal in the final period.
Substitute:
Down: Ronald Araujo (Christensen \’60) – 6/10.
Sub: Ramin Yamal (Romeu \’60) – 6/10 – Missed a scoring chance in the opening game.
Bottom: Marc Giu (Fermin \’79) – 8/10 – Won the title and, judging by the celebration, did it with great enthusiasm.
Sub: Marcos Alonso (’79 Balde) – NA
Administrator- Barca’s La Masia have been excellent at developing talent since Xavi took over, and Sunday was further proof of that.
Man of the match: Joao Felix (Barcelona)
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