Barcelona’s Rising Star Guiu Stuns Athletic with Late Winner

In a thrilling La Liga encounter on Sunday, 17-year-old teenage sensation Marc Guiu, making his debut for Barcelona, secured a 1-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao just moments after stepping onto the field as a substitute. This victory propelled the Catalans to the third spot on the table.

Barcelona, under the management of Xavi, is gearing up for a high-stakes Clasico showdown against league leaders Real Madrid next Saturday. They are trailing their arch-rivals by just one point, with Girona, in second place, having previously triumphed over Almeria with a 5-2 scoreline.

For a significant portion of the match, it appeared that Barcelona might struggle to break down their Basque opponents. However, 17-year-old forward Guiu quickly changed the narrative, finding the net less than a minute after his introduction by Xavi. The silky skills of Joao Felix set up Guiu’s goal, as he calmly slotted the ball past Unai Simon, who managed to touch the shot but couldn’t keep it out.

Guiu is the latest in a series of promising youngsters to make their debuts for Barcelona, a testament to the success of their La Masia academy in producing talent. “He’s been training with us the whole season, and it’s essential that everyone who joins contributes,” said Barcelona defender Inigo Martinez in an interview with DAZN. “We’re delighted for him, for the goal, and most importantly, for the victory.”

Barcelona’s lineup faced challenges due to several key starters, including their star striker Robert Lewandowski, sidelined due to injuries. Nevertheless, they aimed to kickstart their week quickly, with Felix almost hitting the crossbar with a shot from Ferran Torres’ pass.

The game saw Ernesto Valverde’s Athletic Bilbao effectively neutralizing the hosts and occasionally launching counterattacks, with the Williams brothers posing threats from the flanks. Marc-Andre ter Stegen made crucial saves, denying Inaki Williams and the Ghana international. Martinez displayed superb defensive prowess by blocking a rebound attempt by Nico Williams.

All Goals & Highlights: Barcelona 1-0 Bilbao

Approaching the one-hour mark, Barcelona created their most promising opportunity, but Simon made an impressive save against Lopez. A subsequent chance, with Felix feeding Lamine Yamal in the area, went wide of the near post.

The introduction of the 16-year-old starlet Yamal provided a boost to Barcelona’s performance, and Joao Cancelo tested Simon with a shot.

Xavi’s masterstroke came in the 79th minute when he brought on Guiu as a substitute. Guiu made an instant impact, breaking into the penalty area and confidently firing past Simon with his very first touch. His energy and determination were on full display, although he received a yellow card for an attempted slide tackle that caught the goalkeeper, much to the delight of the home fans.

This victory pushed Barcelona past Atletico Madrid into the fourth position, while Valverde’s Athletic Bilbao now occupies the sixth spot on the league table. Simon expressed his disappointment, saying, “I’m annoyed because it went just past me, and maybe I could have done a bit more. We really wanted to get three points to make a big gap above seventh place,” in an interview with DAZN.