La Masia shines for Barcelona against Inter in the Champions League
Barcelona’s youngsters came up big in clash against Inter Milan.
Fielding an alternative side, Barcelona’s academy players stepped up and stunned Inter knocking them out of the Champions League.
Without Lionel Messi, Gerard Pique, Sergi Roberto, and Luis Suarez on the bench, the likes of Jean-Clair Todibo, Moussa Wague, Carles Aleña, Carles Perez, and Ansu Fati all played key roles in the Blaugrana victory.
Aleña, who had not featured much at all since their first league game, was the anchor in midfield with much of the play going through him. Carles Perez, who scored their first goal, pressed and added pace in the attack and caused Inter problems.
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Todibo and Wague, who had a few moments of uncertainty, settled as the game went by and were able to use their pace to hinder a couple of Inter attacks. A feat that might not have been accomplished had Sergi Roberto and Gerard Pique been playing instead.
Despite coming on late in the game, Ansu Fati made history as he became the youngest scorer in the Champions League and delivered the game-winning goal after a bit of combo-play with Suarez.
Aside from the win, the performance by the young Barcelona players proves that the talent is there. It is up to Ernesto Valverde to give them an opportunity. He did this time and they took full advantage of it.
A sentiment that was echoed by Carles Perez following the match.
According to Marca, he said,
"“We’re an example for the boys at La Masia, in the sense that if you believe then you can do it. Barcelona trust the people at La Masia, they can triumph.”"
He and Fati have been the breakout players from the academy this season. Injuries to key players early on in the season meant that they were needed to step in and they’ve done exactly that.
Since the departures of Xavi, Iniesta, Pedro, etc., the club have tried to buy players to replicate past triumphs but have had little success meaning academy players saw no way of getting into the first team.
Because of that, a number of talented players have left to pursue their career elsewhere.
With Valverde preferring to rely on the veterans, playing time has come at a premium for some of the younger players. Even in this match against Inter, many were irked by the omission of Riqui Puig who traveled with the side but was left out of the matchday squad.
The caveat here is that Barcelona had nothing to play for. They punched their ticket to the knockout stage in their previous match so they could afford to field a weaker side. So a number of these players might have to now wait a while before they get another chance.
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Be that as it may, that the team played well given all the changes, the fact that it was at the San Siro, and that Inter needed to go for it makes what they did even more impressive. All they need is a chance and for one match, at least, they got it.