Teenager Fati lights up Barca
Madrid, Sept. 15: Ansu Fati, the 16-year-old starlet from Guinea Bissau, scored his second goal of the season as Barcelona breezed to a 5-2 win against Valencia on Saturday.
Atletico Madrid retained their place at the top of the table, but only by
one point from Real Madrid after their first defeat of the season when they lost 2-0 at Real Sociedad at the Basque club’s newly refurbished stadium.
With Lionel Messi still out and watching from the stands at the Camp Nou it was left to Fati take the plaudits. Fati, who became the third youngest scorer in La Liga history when he came off the bench to net in a 2-2 draw at Osasuna this month, scored in the second minute, before providing the assist for Frenkie de Jong’s seventh minute goal.
The teenager got a standing ovation when he came off after an hour.
Barca coach Ernesto Valverde marvelled at Fati’s composure. “It’s not usual that on his first touch he scores, and on his second he sets up a goal,” he said.
“To get used to being a Barca player is work for anyone, even more so for a boy so young, but he’s a balanced kid, he strikes me as being at ease.”
Kevin Gameiro got Valencia off the mark but a brace from the fitagain Luis Suarez meant Max Gomez’s injury time second for the visitors was purely academic. The defeat left Valencia with just four points from four matches, leaving new coach Albert Celades — a former Real Madrid assistant
coach — with a huge amount of work to do before the club play their first Champions League group game against Chelsea on Tuesday.