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The 17-year-old scored two and won a penalty as Ronald Koeman’s first game in charge of the Blaugrana ended with a 4-0 win over Villarreal
Barcelona is a club devastated by pain.
Of that humiliation of Champions by Bayern Munich. From the irreplaceable legend Lionel Messi who tries to flee at night. Of the institutional and sporting failures that crushed them in recent years.
And yet, it only took a couple of moments of excellence from the wonderful 17-year-old boy Ansu Fati against Villarreal for them to dream again.
The young winger was the ray of sunlight breaking through the relentless clouds as he illuminated the Barcelona landscape in his first game of the season, daring even to ask himself as an answer to the question that has dragged on for years and has never been more crucial. : Whats Next? ?
Messi was always going to leave Barcelona one day, ideally for retirement rather than transfer, and the club needs a plan for that moment, which was closer than ever this summer.
Only the coronavirus kept the six-time Ballon d’Or winner at the club, because if football hadn’t been postponed and Bayern had beaten Barcelona 8-2 before the summer, they could have left for free in June.
Instead, he will remain in Barcelona for the final year of his contract before heading to new pastures barring any U-turn, which is terrible news for Barcelona, who have proven to be allergic to sensible sports planning during the last seasons.
Messi himself cited that as one of the reasons he wanted to go in his exclusive world interview with objective, accusing the club of lack of foresight and plugging the holes.
“The truth is that there has been no project or anything for a long time, they juggle everything and cover holes as they go,” Messi said.
But without wanting to carelessly and recklessly brandish Fati as Barcelona’s next Messi, hopes for his future rise with each new appearance.
All eyes were on Messi, starting the season with new coach Ronald Koeman when they started on Sunday, but attention quickly turned to his teenage teammate.
The Guinea-Bissau-born forward was thrilled on his Spanish debut with former Barcelona manager Luis Enrique during recent Nations League games, and brought that quality to the fore against Villarreal in a 4-0 win over Unai Emery’s team.
After Luis Suárez scored twice in a brilliant debut for Atlético de Madrid earlier in the day, Barça needed to play well or risk further stoking fan ire, especially after Messi backed his former teammate. and close friend at the club.
Fati got the message and was the clear highlight on a good night for Koeman, who had his new team playing good football and really having fun on the field.
Philippe Coutinho looked bolder after his assignment at Bayern, perhaps no longer intimidated by his illustrious teammates, having helped destroy them.
Messi was not sulking and had a predictable strong impact, scoring the third from the penalty spot and forcing Pau Torres to score his own goal for the fourth. Francisco Trincao and Pedri also looked good from the bench, but the night was Fati’s.
The striker, increasingly confident in each game, scored with two clinical finals that belied his young age.
The former roared into the top corner after 15 minutes before the latter was drilled into the near post four minutes later.
He was then brought down in the area by Messi’s penalty, showing the electric speed that Messi-Suárez-Griezmann’s forward desperately lacked last season. Ousmane Dembele, who appeared in a typically unpredictable cameo in the second half, could have provided it had he not spent months out of action.
Fireworks exploded over the Camp Nou for an extended period in the second half as part of the city’s La Merce fiesta celebration, but on the pitch the show ended.
Fati retired in the 68th minute, with his job more than done, rested for Thursday’s visit to Balaidos to face Celta de Vigo, which should be much more complicated than this.
Of course, much more was expected from Villarreal de Emery, especially considering that they already had two league games under their belt. The former Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal manager must fear returning to Camp Nou, the scene of the crime in 2017 when his Paris Saint-Germain side fell 6-1 in the Champions League’s biggest comeback.
But Barcelona can only play what is in front of them, taking one step at a time, burying the past (Rome, Liverpool, Lisbon, Suárez, burofaxes, et al) and cautiously heading towards their future, with Fati at the helm. .
