The first Catalan goal of the game was a co-production between two talents who, in addition, are as old as their teammate Ilkay Gündogan. Pau Cubarsi, 17 years old, and Lamine Yamal, 16, transformed the Parc des Princes in Paris into their stage on which Barcelona won 3-2 against Paris Saint-Germain.
On Wednesday evening, Cubarsi became the youngest defender to ever appear in a European premier class quarter-final. He radiated calm, as if he had already formed the central defense with Carles Puyol. After a few minutes, Ousmane Dembélé wanted to dupe the novice. But the graduate of the elite soccer school “La Masia” put it in practice and didn’t let the ball pass through his legs. “He’s at an exceptional level at 17 years old. I can’t praise him enough,” enthused Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez.
Even more impressive than Cubarsi’s duels – he even managed the almost impossible, he ran past Kylian Mbappé – are his passes, which precisely find the interfaces in the midfield, as if he were practicing on a foosball table without an opponent. Although two artists in this discipline, Frenkie de Jong and Gündogan, wore the same jersey, he played the most passes. In the round of 16 against Napoli, he made pressing with high balls look old again and again, now he cut through the lines with flat passes. “He has one of the greatest building skills we have ever seen here,” said Xavi. And João Cancelo even wrote about “Franz Beckenbauer Cubarsi” on social media.
Before making it 1-0, Cubarsi passed six opponents with one pass. Oldie Robert Lewandowski put the ball into the path of the next exceptional talent, Lamine Yamal. He flicked it into the penalty area with the outside of his foot and Raphinha took the lead.
The financially strapped FC Barcelona have been forced to their luck and have to rely even more on talent than usual
Anyone who saw the encounter couldn’t help but think of “La Remontada”, the comeback. Paris won 4-0 in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 in 2017, but Barcelona hit back at home at Camp Nou, scoring three goals from the 88th minute and progressing to the next round with a 6-1 win. The Catalans’ coach was Luis Enrique, who is now on the sidelines in Paris.
Wednesday’s game saw two small comebacks in the second half, “Remontaditas”. Dembelé equalized, Vitinha made it 2-1 for Paris. Cubarsi was a step too late. Was the Catalan selection perhaps lacking experience? Xavi responded by replacing Yamal and bringing on Pedri, who at 21 is almost of biblical age. The correction took effect immediately, Cubarsi played to Pedri, who chipped the ball behind the defense and Raphinha scored wonderfully to make it 2-2.
Meanwhile, Ilkay Gündogan maintained the balance of the Barça game, sped it up and slowed it down. The 33-year-old has gotten used to the spotlight increasingly shining on the young sensational players next to him. At the European Championships, his main task will be to channel the youthful genius of Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala. He can already practice this in the club. However, when necessary, he comes to the fore: with a corner he set up Andreas Christensen’s winning goal.
And so the Parisian dream, or that of the owners from Qatar, of finally winning the premier class is in danger of bursting again in the second leg in Spain. In the summer of 2017, after “La Remontada”, the club launched its big attack on the handle pot with Qatari money. Neymar moved from Barcelona to the Seine for 222 million euros, with Kylian Mbappé joining him. To date the project has been unsuccessful. Neymar now plays for Al-Hilal, and Mbappé will also move in the summer.
Barcelona squandered Neymar’s income and the current financial problems are linked to this spending spree. The club has been forced to its luck and has to rely on talent even more than usual. Barça recently reportedly rejected a 200 million offer for Lamine Yamal, who reportedly came from Paris. His promise for the future and the present seems to be even greater than the debt.