Unlike the first team, Barcelona B mounted a comeback but couldn’t finish the job. A goal in the first minute from former Barça player Rafa Mújica put the team on the back foot in a hurry. Playing off the shoulders of the centre-back, Mújica was played straight through on goal and finished easily. The second goal was just as simple for Villarreal B. A cross from the left found the head of Edu Espiau, who out jumped Sergio Akieme and put it past the keeper.
A few minutes later though, Barcelona B started their comeback. Kike Saverio found himself near midfield with a ton of space on the left wing and surged ahead. A layoff to Monchu and the immediate return pass gave Saverio the shooting space to score Barcelona B’s first goal. A minute later, Álex Collado showcased why the third division may be too low of a level for him. Picking up the ball at midfield, he rode three tackles before sending the through ball behind the defense for Gerard “Peque” Fernández to run on to and score. The 17-year-old Peque, in his Barcelona B debut, chipped the keeper and made Francisco Pimienta’s decision to reward his tremendous Juvenil A form look like the right one.
Barcelona B didn’t have much time to celebrate though. Four minutes after Peque’s goal, the Blaugrana failed to put pressure on Jun-hyuk Ahn and the 20-year-old scored the winning goal from distance. Pimienta’s team would have other chances, but a second game-tying goal never came.
To take the positives from the match, Barcelona B were very close to a result with a severely depleted squad due to first team call-ups and sales in January. Riqui Puig’s absence means that Monchu must take on even more responsibility in the midfield, a job that he’s done admirably. Opponents know that he is Barcelona’s engine this season, both in creating and scoring goals. Collado is close behind in terms of importance, and both midfielders took plenty of abuse in the match.
The other positive is the debut of Peque. After the exodus of Abel Ruiz and Alejandro Marques and Rey Manaj unavailable, the leading scorer in La Masia this season didn’t look out of place at Barcelona B. He still has much to learn, but it was a promising showing nonetheless. With Hiroki Abe most likely out for the rest of the season, Barcelona B will need to utilize the goalscorers in Juvenil A.
It’s not just in the middle. Rey Manaj and Matheus Pereira were brought in replace players who were sold and help win Barcelona B promotion back to the second division, but they aren’t enough. Priority one of Barça B is to provide players for the first team, and Barcelona’s bench against Real Betis was a testament to that (Puig, Iñaki Peña, Ronald Araújo, and Ansu Fati). Priority two, however, is to get the Barcelona B players the best experience possible for their development, and that involves facing better opponents in the second division. Manaj and Pereira may help with promotion, but don’t get it twisted – Barcelona B will get back to the second division on the backs of the likes of Monchu, Jandro Orellana, Kike Saverio, and the other regulars that got them into the playoff spots to begin with.
