Three talking points as Barcelona lose 3-1 to Real Madrid

1. The kids can play

One of the few bright spots for Barcelona coming out of the loss are the performances of their young players. Ansu Fati, normally deployed on the left, started centrally and scored Barcelona’s only goal of the game.

As each game goes by, he’s proving more and more that he belongs and showing that despite his age, he is the real deal.

But he was not alone.

Sergino Dest was not overwhelmed by the occasion and played very well on the right. He snuffed out plenty of the Real Madrid attacks and kept Vinicius at bay. He was not at fault for any of the goals conceced.

Pedri also had a decent game all things considering. His influence was not overly evident but put in a significant effort in tracking back when needed. In many aspects, he was playing the Griezmann role and sacrificing going forward to make sure the team were solid defensively.

One of the things that Koeman promised when he took over the job was he would play someone who was playing well regardless of age. He’s somewhat kept his promise with Riqui Puig and Carles Alena being two young players who have yet to have an opportunity under the Dutchman.

In the end, Koeman’s risk did not pay off as Barcelona lost but with not much else to take out of this game in terms of highlights, Barcelona supporters will take what they can get at the moment.