Marcos Alonso may not be playing much football for Barcelona at the moment, but he’s still reportedly playing a key role behind the scenes.
Diario Sport reckon the veteran has emerged as an important mentor to the team’s young players this season.
The report reckons that Alonso has not been sulking about his lack of game time and has instead put his efforts into doing all he can to help the team.
He spends a lot of time with the youngsters in training and is using his vast experience to help the players adapt to the demands at Barcelona.
Alonso did get onto the pitch in Sunday’s win over Athletic and was one of the first to congratulate Marc Guiu on his winner.
The left-back has only made two La Liga starts so far this season but could be in line to face Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League next.
Alejandro Balde could be rested for the tie, with Xavi having one eye on the Clasico, which would potentially see Alonso start at left-back.
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Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski reportedly underwent further tests on his ankle injury on Monday to determine his fitness ahead of El Clasico.
The Poland international has been out since sustaining the injury against Porto in the Champions League.
Lewandowski has missed Barcelona’s last two games and is a major doubt for Saturday’s clash with Real Madrid.
The tests showed that all is well and “there are no complications” but Lewandowski’s still isn’t quite recovered from his injury, according to Polish outlet Meczyk.
It’s expected he will have another test at the end of the week which will be fairly definitive when it comes to his involvement in the match.
The current thinking seems to be that Lewandowski is in a real race against time but if he does play on Saturday, it’s only like to be as a substitute and not as a starter.
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However, it’s now thought he is still not ready to make his comeback and will sit out the weekend’s game against Madrid too.
Diario Sport bring the bad news and reckon he wasn’t training on Monday, meaning he won’t play against Shakhtar and is unlikely to face Carlo Ancelotti’s side as well.
As Pedri has been out for such a long time it seems there’s little chance of him being handed minutes in such an intense game as El Clasico and his return has been delayed.
Indeedd Barcelona fans may not see him play again until November 4 when Xavi’s side face Real Sociedad.
Xavi has been asked regularly about Pedri but has refused to put a date on his return, saying only that he will play again when he feels ready.
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Teenage striker Marc Guiu was the hero for Barcelona against Athletic, scoring the winner straight after coming off the bench to cap a dream debut.
It was an incredible moment for Guiu, Barcelona and La Masia as yet another academy product made it into the first team and showed exactly what he can do. La Masia really is the gift that keeps on giving.
Injuries had left Xavi short of options in attack but credit must also go to the coach for turning to Guiu and throwing him on when he was in need of a goal.
“Before going on, Xavi told me to just do the same as I do in the youth team. And to take any chances that came my way,” he said afterwards after doing exactly what his coach had told him.
Guiu also wrote his name into the history books at the same time - he is the youngest debutant ever to score for Barça, at the age of 17 years and 292 days - what a story.
Barca finally see the real Inigo Martinez
At the other end of the pitch Marc-Andre ter Stegen was once again crucial for Barcelona, while Inigo Martinez put in his best performance since leaving Athletic and moving to the Camp Nou on a free transfer.
Injury has disrupted Martinez’s start to life at Barcelona but he was dominant against his former side and put in an incredible block in the first half that prevented his team from going behind.
Noche especial en Barcelona! Gran victoria en un partido ante muy buenos amigos!
The defender finished with a pass accuracy rate of 95% (86 out of 91 passes), was not dispossessed all night, didn’t commit a single foul,and won all his ground duels and tackles.
“I am happy for Iñigo, who also played a great game,” he said. “He’s going to be important. He’s a personal signing of mine and I have a lot of faith in him. He has character and leadership.”
It was certainly a good time for Martinez to stake a claim for a starting spot. Barca face a crunch week with games against Shakhtar and Real Madrid up next and will be without Jules Kounde because of injury for both encounters.
Barcelona can go above Madrid with Clasico win
Barcelona’s win over Athletic moves the team into third place in the table, just a point behind surprise leaders Girona and Real Madrid in second place.
All of which means that Xavi’s side can move above Los Blancos in the table with a victory in El Clasico next weekend.
Barcelona are certainly in a good place in the table despite having had to cope with a raft of injuries to key players in the early weeks of the season.
The clash against Athletic was always going to be a tough test, but Xavi has an impeccable record when it comes to facing the Basque side.
8 - Barcelona have not lost any of their last eight games against Athletic in @LaLigaEN (W7 D1), winning all four under Xavi Hernandez without conceding a single goal.
If not then he may just have to trust in youth again. Fermin Lopez, Lamine Yamal and now Marc Guiu have all stepped up this season when called upon by Xavi and may be needed once again in the biggest game of them all.
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At the tender age of just 17 years and 291 days, Guiu is the youngest player to debut with a goal for Barcelona in La Liga in the 21st century, according to Opta.
17 - At 17 years and 291 days, Marc Guiu is the youngest player to debut with a goal for Barcelona in @LaLigaEN in the 21st century.
It was an incredible moment for Guiu and Barcelona as yet another La Masia product made an instant impact in the first team.
The forward joins the likes of Alejandro Balde, Gavi, Lamine Yamal and Fermin Lopez in enjoying himself in the first team this season and will surely be hoping for more chances now.
Xavi opted to call on Guiu due to an injury crisis that has left him without a host of key first-teamers, including Robert Lewandowski, and he certainly saw his faith in the teenager rewarded.
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Photo by David S.Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images
There’s not a lot of good news about
Xavi Hernandez offered an update on Barcelona’s injury situation ahead of next weekend’s Clasico with Real Madrid after beating Athletic on Sunday.
The Barcelona coach was without a host of key players for the game, with only Alejandro Balde and Lamine Yamal returning to the side for the match.
Xavi was without Robert Lewandowski, Pedri, Jules Kounde, Raphinha, Frenkie de Jong and Sergi Roberto for Sunday’s match and doesn’t have too much good news to share.
The Barca boss says Kounde and Roberto will definitely miss the clash with Madrid and refused to confirm if any of his other absentees would return.
Xavi says Kounde and Sergi Roberto out of the clásico next weekend. A case of wait and see with De Jong, Pedri, Raphinha and Lewandowski with six days to go, but clear he won't take any risks
It had been expected that Pedri would return after the Athletic clash, but recent reports have suggested he will undergo further tests this week and could end up missing the games against Shakhtar and Madrid.
De Jong is still yet to return to training after an ankle problem, while Lewandowski and Raphinha have both said they want to play but remain big doubts for the crunch clash.
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The defender enjoyed himself on Sunday
Inigo Martinez admitted Barcelona weren’t brilliant against Athletic but that the three points were all that mattered on Sunday in La Liga.
Marc Guiu’s debut goal handed Xavi’s side all three points on a night when Inigo faced his former employers.
The defender enjoyed a strong performance against the Basque side and is happy to see his team move to within a point of top spot in La Liga.
“It was an important game. We wanted to be in that position where we are just one point behind the leaders we had a few chances the first half. It wasn’t a brilliant performance but we got the goal and we take three points,” he said.
“It’s nice to play against my former club. I have a lot of friends out on the pitch but once the game starts there are no friends. They made it difficult for us but I hope it goes well for them for the rest of the season.”
The defender also spoke about Barca’s match-winner Marc Guiu and was happy to see the teenager step up and make the difference.
“He’s been training with us all season,” he added. “He got his chance tonight, everyone that plays needs to contribute and he did that. All that matters is that we win the game and we pick up the three points.”
Barcelona now head into a Champions League clash with Shakhtar Donetsk before facing Real Madrid next weekend in La Liga.
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