Page 3 - Barcelona vs Real Murcia - 5 key talking points

#3 Barca's youngsters make good of the opportunity

Barcelona players walk back in unison after celebrating Pique's goal

As soon as the squad for the Copa Del Rey fixture was announced, it was as plain as a pikestaff that Valverde was going to experiment with his team.

With almost all their superstars being given a day off, several youngsters were given a chance. The 19-year-old Oriol Busquets impressed in central midfield as he put in a shift quite similar in character to that of his namesake's.

Carles Alena displayed quick feet and tenacity as he constantly roamed around the final third to find space for his attackers. Denis Suarez scored a goal and provided an assist for youngster Jose Arnaiz to round off an impressive performance.

Although Lucas Digne's final product is lacking at times, his work rate and pace deserve a mention.

With all the talks of a big money signing being on the horizon, maybe some blokes are right and Barcelona just need to look within to find their future.

About the author

Shambhu is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who focuses on previews, listicles and news articles. An ardent Manchester United supporter since before his teenage years, he started following the Red Devils by age 10 watching MUTV on television. Shambhu is also a highly-revered rapper and a playback singer on Spotify, having a whopping 1 million monthly listeners.

For his articles, Shambhu believes in triple-checking every piece of information, relying on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and Opta, and staying away from speculative publications. He believes that his law degree helped him to be more articulate and meticulous with his content and one of his core strengths is seamlessly involving emotion in his write-ups owing to the love for the sport. For Sportskeeda, has done exclusive interviews with Spanish legends Gaizka Mendieta and Fernando Morientes so far, and his articles boast of a huge readership of close to 50 million.

Shambhu's favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and the Argentine attaining glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment. He believes only Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could replicate Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's rivalry in the years to come. His favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson due to the Scot's unmatched longevity at the top.

Know More

Edited by Shambhu Ajith