4 talking points from FC Barcelona's impressive win Vs Valencia in the Season opener

NIGHT OF THREE 17 YEAR OLDS

Barcelona became the first Spanish club this century to include three players aged under seventeen in their starting line up. To do so in the opening weekend required a lot of grit and confidence and the German tactician deserves much praise for putting his trust in the three teenagers. Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarasi were regular names on the team sheet in the second half of last season but the addition of Marc Bernal to that list adds another brand of hope and optimism to this Barcelona side as they shape for the future.

Yamal carried on his brilliance from the Euros and was a constant thorn, dribbling and running at the Valencia backline with relative ease. He bagged a superb assist for Lewandowski’s equaliser and could have easily bagged a couple of goals with a bit more precision infront of goal. Barca’s golden ball was touted to herald the next generation at the club and has started the season on a strong foot.

Cubarasi was as solid as ever in the heart of Barcelona’s defence and the newly crowned Olympic gold- medalist was one of the main architects behind the win. His heroic clearance off the line denied Valencia a second goal with Lewandowski equalising seconds later. The outcome of the match could have been much different if not for Cubarasi’s intervention. His man marking was excellent right throughout the game and his long balls caught the Mastella based team off guard on more than a solitary occasion. Marc Bernal put in a relentless shift in a double pivot role and the emergence of the young guns at the club already seems to be a welcome change.