Getty Ansu Fati celebrates against Dynamo Kiev.
Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen has some advice for teenage star Ansu Fati on how to become an even “more exceptional” striker after the youngster scored the winner against Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday.
Fati was making his 50th appearance for Barcelona in Ukraine and secured all three points for the visitors with an emphatic finish for the only goal of the Champions League match on the 70th minute.
Ter Stegen spoke about the importance of the strike and had one particular piece of advice for the 19-year-old on how he can become an even better player, as reported by UEFA.
“There are little things we can all do to help Ansu become a still-more exceptional striker,” he said. It’s about positional play. But that’s a heck of an important goal he’s produced for us. It’s only three points, it’s only ever three … but this win brings us some stability and peace momentarily.”
The victory means that Barcelona can now qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League with a win over Benfica in their next match in the competition on November 23 at the Camp Nou.
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Ter Stegen Talks Aguero, Barcelona’s Finishing
Ter Stegen also offered his thoughts on teammate Sergio Aguero and Barcelona’s finishing after the match. The Catalan giants once again enjoyed plenty of possession but struggled to create constant danger.
The visitors were without Aguero for the match, with the striker having been ruled out for three months after cardiac tests in hospital, and Ter Stegen has wished the Argentine well.
“Right now, we’re lacking finishers. But in the second half we took up better positions all over the pitch and that helps the strikers a lot. In recent games, teams have been creating danger against us and more or less scoring with their first chance every time,” he said. “Now it’s time for us to grow. We’ve got a big game this weekend (at Celta) but health is always more important than sport and Kun [Aguero]’s wellbeing was vital to us all. We all hope he recovers as soon as possible … but the most important thing is that he’s healthy.”
Barcelona Coach Praises Ansu & Dembele
Barcelona interim coach Sergi Barjuan also shared his thoughts after the match and praised Fati and returning forward Ousmane Dembele. The Frenchman made his first appearance of the season off the bench after returning from a knee injury.
Dembele’s pace and willingness to run at opponents with the ball made an impact during the game, and Barjuan admitted the 24-year-old had made a difference for the Catalans.
“We are a team. But a scorer like him [Fati] helps everyone do their jobs better. It’s vital that he’s got that vision of the goalmouth and how to put the ball away,” he said. “We put Dembele on earlier than we’d told him he would after so long out. But he makes such a difference – he plays at a different tempo, he’s very direct, he stretches things.”
The return of both Fati and Dembele is a huge boost to Barcelona and the two players could prove crucial to the team as the season progresses, provided they can both stay fit and play regularly.
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