Twitter Hails Barcelona’s Youth Movement as Record-Breaker Ansu Fati Knocks Inter Out of CL

?Goals from La Masia graduates Carles Perez and Ansu Fati guided a second-string Barcelona side to a 2-1 win over Inter on Tuesday night, knocking the Serie A leaders out of the competition.

Dortmund’s defeat in Barcelona last time out coupled with Inter’s victory in Prague meant that, in order to progress to the knockout stages, all Antonio Conte’s men needed to do on matchday six was match BVB’s result.

And early on, they looked like the more likely side to get the breakthrough with Romelu Lukaku, Cristiano Biraghi and Danilo D’Ambrosio all failing to find the back of the net despite finding themselves in promising positions. 

Then, against the run of play, Barça struck after Diego Godin’s interception of a direct Antione Griezmann pass fell into the path of 21-year-old Perez, the La Masia graduate making no mistake from close range. It’s also worth noting that teenager Jean-Clair Todibo played a huge role in the goal – driving out of defence to put the visitors on the front foot.

After Clement Lenglet spurned a glorious chance to double the Catalans’ lead, the hosts gained momentum at the end of the first half, eventually getting their reward for an impressive opening 45 minutes through Lukaku after all the hard work was done by Lautaro Martinez.

The second half started rather cagey, with Inter knowing that a 1-1 draw would be enough with Dortmund also being held by Slavia Praha. But, after Julian Brandt gave BVB the lead in Germany, the chances started to come…and go for the home side, with Lukaku the main culprit for missed opportunities.

?With Inter missing chances, the visitors continued to threaten in transition with Conte seemingly abandoning his central midfield in favour of attacking talent from the substitutes bench.

And while Frenkie de Jong and Luis Suarez were thrown into the mix, it was Valverde’s final substitution, 17-year-old Ansu Fati, who made Inter pay as the winger drove home from distance to give his side the lead – becoming the youngest ever goalscorer in the Champions League while at it.

There was no ‘Miracle in Milan’ by the home side as Barça held onto their 2-1 lead, sending I Nerazzurri down to the Europa League with Dortmund joining the Catalans in the last 16.

On the whole, Barça fans were more than satisfied with their youthful side’s display, with Jean-Clair Todibo and Carles Alena impressing throughout.

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