Joao Cancelo and Lamine Yamal laud Barcelona star on social media after their 1-0 over Osasuna

Joao Cancelo and Lamine Yamal lauded Pau Cubarsi after his display in Barcelona's 1-0 LaLiga win against Osasuna on Wednesday (January 31).

The 17-year-old centre-back has been finding regular playing time under Xavi Hernandez in recent weeks. All five of his senior appearances for the club came in January, with the most recent one being against Osasuna.

Cubarsi started in defense alongside Ronald Araujo, with Andreas Christensen being benched and Inigo Martinez ruled out with an injury. The teenager had a solid outing as his team kept a clean sheet, making two recoveries, winning five duels, and completing 87% of his 91 passes.

Cubarsi took to his Instagram account to post a couple of photos from the game. Cancelo and Yamal were among the Barca stars who flocked to the comment section to praise him.

The Portuguese full-back's comment read:

"Cu Cu Cubarsiiiiiiiiiii"

Yamal, meanwhile, replied with four fire emojis in the comment section. The Spanish winger joined La Masia in 2013 and was joined by Cubarsi in 2018, who left Girona's youth academy to make the switch to Barcelona.

Cubarsi seems to be going from strength to strength and could become a regular first-team feature under Xavi, if he isn't one already. His contract expires only in the summer of 2026 but given his performances, it wouldn't be a surprise if he pens a new deal in the future.

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Xavi Hernandez says he has talked to Barcelona star about poor form

Xavi Hernandez has said he has talked to Robert Lewandowski about the Polish striker's poor form.

The 34-year-old joined Barca from Bayern Munich in the summer of 2022 and scored 33 goals in 46 games in his debut season. However, the following campaign hasn't been as impressive.

Although Lewandowski has 13 goals in 30 games across competitions, fans have demanded more from him, given his goal-scoring pedigree and proven track record. He hasn't scored in 12 of his last 14 LaLiga appearances for Barcelona and drew a blank against Osasuna as well.

After the game, Xavi told reporters (h/t BarcaBlaugranes):

"We spoke with him [Robert Lewandowski] this week. He has to be more positional, be in the area. He is one of the best finishers in the world. He has to give us that goal in the area because we have a very important positional game. He has been better at a positional level. Little by little. The forwards need that goal to give them confidence and Robert is going to score them."

Lewandowski played the full 90 minutes against Osasuna but it was substitute Vitor Roque who scored the only goal of the game. It was the 18-year-old Brazilian's first goal for the Blaugrana since moving to the club last month.