Ansu Fati made a goalscoring return to action for Barcelona against Real Madrid on Wednesday, January 12 in the semi-final of the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.
The 19-year-old has not featured since November 2021 due to injury but came off the bench to replace Luuk de Jong on 65 minutes. Fati didn’t take long to make an impact, heading Barcelona level at 2-2 from Jordi Alba’s corner.
Real Madrid had gone ahead when Vinicius Jr opened the scoring after just 25 minutes but were pegged back by De Jong’s equalizer four minutes before half-time. Karim Benzema then restored Los Blancos’ lead in the second half but Fati’s goal sent the game into extra-time.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side then took the lead for the third time in the game through substitute Fede Valverde. Real Madrid caught Barcelona with a quick counter which allowed the Uruguayan to tuck the ball past goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
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Ferran Torres Makes Barcelona Debut
Wednesday’s match saw new signing Ferran Torres make his debut for Barcelona. The 21-year-old started the game in attack alongside Luuk de Jong and Ousmane Dembele for the Catalans.
Torres played the first 45 minutes before being replaced at half-time by Ez Abde. It was the Spain international’s first outing since October as he returns to action after a foot injury and Covid-19.
The Clasico clash also saw Barcelona’s teenager midfielder Pedri make his long-awaited comeback. Pedri arrived at half-time to make his first Barca outing since September after overcoming a thigh problem.
Pique ‘Very Proud’ of Barcelona
Valverde’s goal ended up being the winner for Real Madrid, but Barcelona can take a lot of positives from the game. Xavi’s side competed well against the runaway La Liga leaders who are 17 points ahead of the Catalans in the Spanish top flight.
Barca fielded a youthful side with youngsters Pedri, Gavi, Nico Gonzalez, Torres, Ansu Fati, Ez Abde, and Ferran Jutgla also featuring which offers plenty of promise for the future.
Veteran center-back Gerard Pique spoke to Movistar after the game and spoke about his pride in his team’s performance despite the result, as reported by Cope.
“We are closer, we are already competing, but we have to win, we have to take that step, but I am proud of the team,” he said. “Playing like today we are closer than ever. This is great news, the only bad news is that it has not been won.”
The result means Real Madrid go on to play the winners of Thursday’s second semi-final between defending La Liga champions Atletico Madrid and last season’s Copa del Rey finalists Athletic.
Meanwhile, Barcelona will head home to prepare for a tricky Copa del Rey last 16 tie against Athletic at San Mames. The fixture is a repeat of last season’s final which Barca won 4-0 to lift the trophy for a record 31st time.
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Ansu Fati Scores Against Real Madrid on Barcelona Return [WATCH]