[ad_1]
The smile on Ilaix Moriba’s face when his teammates surrounded him to congratulate the young man for the goal that finally put Osasuna to bed said it all.
It was replicated all over the side and viewers were undoubtedly getting their best impression of the Cheshire Cat as well.
In the space of a handful of appearances as a substitute in the first team, he too is starting to emerge as the kind of player Barca needs.
Bold, dynamic and strong, there is also a lot of joy in the way he plays the game.
It is beautiful to look at and it is clear that you are living the dream, but this is not a symbolic gesture from Ronald Koeman. Ilaix is slowly but surely making his way into the team.
The old cliche that ‘if they’re good enough, they’re old enough’ certainly applies here, and kudos again to Koeman for having the courage to throw the youngsters to the bottom.
In the most important part of the season and after the worst possible start, the Dutchman was not afraid to take risks and overall it was worth it.
Today, Barça have an astonishing road record in 2021, and while that could be partly due to the lack of local fans in the stadiums, no one can say that every victory was not fully deserved.
– Barcelona is the first club to have three scorers in a single La Liga season under the age of 19.
Ansu Fati (17)
Pedri (17)
Ilaix Morabi (18)#OSABAR #The league– Gracenote Live (@GracenoteLive) March 6, 2021
Two points behind Atlético de Madrid, even if they have two games in hand, means that we are still in the conversation for the title, and who, honestly, would have said so six weeks ago.
For Ilaix, read Pedri. And Riqui Puig, Oscar Mingueza, Sergino Dest and Ansu Fati. Frenkie de Jong is only slightly older at 23.
All those named, without exception, have turned what was a disaster of the season and, despite everything, they have left us wanting more.
100 – Pedri González made 100 touches against Osasuna, becoming the youngest player to reach more than 100 touches in a single LaLiga game since at least 2005/06. Omnipresent. pic.twitter.com/cGGgjcAg4b
– OptaJose (@OptaJose) March 6, 2021
Whisper it quietly … in fact, we have something to look forward to again. A little rough around the edges, yes, but nothing that can’t be resolved with a little polish here or there.
Even if we ended the season without silverware, the children have taken pride in the most difficult circumstances.
They have given us all hope when there was none. Joy when all we felt was pain. A reason to believe again.
This really could finally be the start of something special, and how good does it feel ?!
Now if we can get Leo to sign on the dotted line …
[ad_2]
