Ansu Fati

The Spain international tapped in from close range in the eighth minute after latching onto Jordi Alba's cutback.

His strike cancelled out Federico Valverde's opener, which had come three minutes earlier during a frantic start.

At the age of 17 years and 359 days, Fati is the youngest player to score in a meeting between Barca and Madrid in the 21st century.

It is the latest in a long list of records set by the Barca academy graduate since he made his senior debut in August 2019.

Fati is also the overall youngest goalscorer for Barca and the Spanish national team, as well as being the youngest scorer in Champions League history.

He has established himself as a regular in Barca's frontline this season ahead of Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele, who both started on the bench against Madrid.

The early equaliser was the 400th goal scored by the Catalan giants against their bitter rivals in all competitions.

Gavi became Spain's youngest ever player this month, impressing in a Nations League semi-final win over Italy.

At the age of 17 years and 80 days, the midfielder, who was named alongside Sergio Busquets and Frenkie de Jong, will be the youngest player to start a Clasico match since the turn of the century. 

Ahead of Gavi, Ansu Fati, who has scored twice in LaLiga since returning from a long injury lay-off, was given his second start of the season in Spain's top flight, with Sergino Dest and Memphis Depay completing Barca's frontline.

Fati, who inherited Lionel Messi's number 10 jersey at Barca, is still the youngest player to appear in a LaLiga Clasico this century, having made his debut in the fixture at the age of 17 years and 48 days in December 2019.

Gerard Pique lined up alongside Oscar Mingueza and Eric Garcia in a possible three-man defence, with Jordi Alba on the left flank.

Sergio Aguero, who made cameo appearances in Barca's past two games, was named on the bench again.

Madrid went into the game looking to win twice in a row at Camp Nou in LaLiga for just the third time, and Carlo Ancelotti's side had plenty of Clasico experience in their ranks.

Ballon d'Or hopeful Karim Benzema was selected up top, with Casemiro, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric in midfield. David Alaba was handed a Clasico debut in defence.

Madrid went into Sunday's game on the back of a 1-0 defeat to Barca's city rivals Espanyol. They have not suffered back-to-back defeats in LaLiga since 2018-19.

Barca celebrated the milestone thanks to teenage sensation Ansu Fati, who came off the bench and scored the team's fourth goal away to Villarreal.

The two-time reigning LaLiga champions, who are four points behind bitter rivals Real Madrid with four matches remaining, netted their first official goal in April 1909.

Just over 111 years later, Barca have scored their 9,000th goal – superstar captain and six-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi contributing 630.

Of Barca's overall tally, 6,165 goals have been scored in LaLiga, followed by the Copa del Rey (1,474) and the Champions League (543).

The 24-team tournament, which was postponed in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, was due to start on Friday. Instead, it will now begin on June 11, 2021.

There is a strong likelihood several nations will have different starting line-ups in 2021, with new stars tipped to emerge.

Using Opta data, we take a look at those uncapped youngsters who might benefit from the Euros being moved back to next year.

EDUARDO CAMAVINGA

The central-midfield axis of Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante was well-established during France's run to glory at World Cup 2018, though, due to injury, neither man featured regularly in the Euro qualifiers as Didier Deschamps utilised Corentin Tolisso, a bit-part player for Bayern Munich, and Moussa Sissoko, who will soon turn 31.

Teenager Camavinga shot to prominence by dominating in a win over Paris Saint-Germain as a 16-year-old in August. His assist in that game makes him the youngest player to be involved in a goal across Europe's top five leagues this term, and he has since established himself as a regular for high-flying Rennes.

His 64 tackles in Ligue 1 this season is more than any other midfielder in the major European leagues, while he played more than three time as many minutes (2,112) as any other under-18 player in those divisions prior to the COVID-19 suspension.

Already a France Under-21 international, Camavinga has been linked with a move to Real Madrid and, based on his current trajectory, it is easy to see him muscling his way into Deschamps' plans.

ANSU FATI

The youngest goalscorer in the history of the Champions League was granted Spanish citizenship in September and it appears only a matter of time before Fati is a senior La Roja international.

There were reports that the Barcelona forward, who was born in Guinea-Bissau, would have been included in the preliminary Spain squad for the March friendlies that were ultimately cancelled.

There were no teenagers in the most recent Spain squad so, at 17, Fati can use the extra time to convince Luis Enrique he is a special case worthy of a regular spot in his selection.

After all, only Lionel Messi (110) and Luis Suarez (125) in the Barca squad have better minutes-per-goal ratios than Fati (202) this season, while the fearless and gifted teenager averages the fourth-most dribble attempts (2.38) per match among Blaugrana players.

PHIL FODEN

You have to be pretty decent if Pep Guardiola has called you "the most talented player" he has ever coached.

Although there have been only fleeting glimpses of Foden in a Manchester City shirt, he has certainly made an impact. In his 11 starts this term, Foden's had a hand in nine goals (seven assists, two goals), while he also has the best minutes-per-assist record (155) across all competitions of Premier League players to have played more than 1,000 minutes.

Regular playing time will surely be less of an issue for the 20-year-old once David Silva departs after the 2019-20 season.

The Spaniard's heir-apparent Foden has already caught the eye for England Under-21s, and might have made the cut for Gareth Southgate's squad in 2020 anyway, but both club and country will have earmarked the classy midfielder for a breakthrough campaign next year.

JOSHUA ZIRKZEE

The enforced break could be considered both a blessing and a curse for Bayern Munich's young Dutch striker Zirkzee.

An injury to Robert Lewandowski had resulted in the 19-year-old starting Bayern's previous two Bundesliga games before the suspension and, having needed just three minutes to score his first two league goals earlier in the season, he was seemingly set to enhance his reputation in the following weeks.

But the season hiatus put paid to that and Lewandowski was fit to return when the campaign resumed, with the Pole typically lethal since. But that doesn't take away from the fact Zirkzee is Bayern's third-youngest Bundesliga goalscorer, as he lays the groundwork for a potential breakthrough season in 2020-21, either at Bayern or on loan elsewhere.

Having only represented Netherlands as high as Under-19 level so far, Zirkzee still has a way to go to force his way into Ronald Koeman's senior squad for competitive fixtures, but another year of development will surely aid his case, particularly given the Oranje's lack of established options in the striker role.

YOUSSOUFA MOUKOKO

A name that may be unfamiliar to many outside of Germany, though perhaps not for much longer given the goalscoring record Borussia Dortmund's 15-year-old prodigy has.

Moukoko netted for the 34th time in his 20th Under-19 Bundesliga game in March, setting a record for the competition, having scored 50 in 28 appearances at U17 level last season.

A Euros this year would have definitely come too soon for Moukoko but Lucien Favre wants the Germany youth international training with his first team soon, and following a regulation change, he will be able to make his debut when he turns 16 in November.

By this time next year, a man already on Joachim Low's radar may just be a long shot for Die Mannschaft's senior team too.

Fati has enjoyed an impressive rise from Barca academy product to first-team star over the past two years, despite having to contend with a number of injury setbacks. 

Among a host of other records set since his debut in August 2019, Fati can lay claim to being Barca's youngest goalscorer and the youngest scorer in Champions League history.  

Mbappe is also no stranger to breaking records, not least becoming the youngest player in history to reach the 100-goal mark in Ligue 1 at 22 years and 91 days old in March.  

The World Cup winner is further along in his development than Fati, having made his senior breakthrough with Monaco in December 2015 before joining PSG two years later. 

While Mbappe is widely heralded as one of the most coveted players in world football, Tebas argues he is no better than Barca youngster Fati. 

"We always like to give a lot of value to what we have outside of Spain," Tebas told El Partidazo de Cope.  

"We have Ansu Fati, who unfortunately has had injuries, but over time he has shown that he is equal to or better than Mbappe." 

Fati, who inherited Lionel Messi's number 10 shirt at Camp Nou in September and recently signed a new long-term deal, has scored 17 goals in 51 appearances for Barca in all competitions. 

Over the same period, Mbappe has found the net 77 times in 97 games for PSG, netting at a rate of one goal every 98 minutes. Fati gets one every 138 minutes. 

Mbappe has also outperformed Fati in terms of assists, setting up his PSG team-mates 33 times compared to three for the Spain international. 

When comparing the players over the same point in their career, Mbappe also has the edge. 

Across his first 51 appearances for Monaco, which like Fati was made up of 27 starts and the rest from the substitutes' bench, Mbappe scored 24 times at a rate of one every 108 minutes and assisted 10 more. 

That includes a big-chance conversion return of 71 per cent at that stage in his career – which has since dropped to 48 – compared to 29 for Fati. 

The prize, presented by Italian newspaper Tuttosport and won by Joao Felix last year, is given to the best player aged 21 or under from a top-tier league in Europe.

Haaland is a leading contender for the accolade after scoring 44 goals across all competitions in 2019-20 – 16 of those coming in 18 appearances after a mid-season move from Salzburg to Borussia Dortmund.

Among all Bundesliga players last season to have scored at least 10 goals, only Robert Lewandowski (81.2) had a better minutes-per-goal record than Haaland (81.7).

His Dortmund team-mate Sancho finished the 2019-20 league campaign with 17 goals and 16 assists, making him the first player since Opta began detailed data collection (2004-05) to register at least 15 in both categories in the same Bundesliga campaign.

The England international's prolific campaign saw him become the youngest player (20 years, two months and six days old) in the history of Germany's top flight to reach 30 career goals.

Despite their impressive numbers, Haaland and Sancho face stiff competition from Fati, who became the third-youngest player (16 years, 304 days old) to find the net in LaLiga history and the youngest of all time in the Champions League (17 years, 40 days).

He finished the season with eight goals in all competitions and has continued his rise this term, netting three times in as many LaLiga games and becoming the youngest player to score for Spain.

Alphonso Davies will also be in contention after establishing himself as one of the top left-backs in the game during Bayern Munich's treble-winning season.

The full 20-man shortlist:

Mitchel Bakker (Paris Saint-Germain), Eduardo Camavinga (Rennes), Jonathan David (Lille), Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich), Sergino Dest (Barcelona), Fabio Silva (Wolves), Ansu Fati (Barcelona), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Ryan Gravenberch (Ajax), Mason Greenwood (Manchester United), Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund), Callum Hudson-Odoi (Chelsea), Dejan Kulusevski (Juventus), Rodrygo (Real Madrid), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Dominik Szoboszlai (Salzburg), Sandro Tonali (Milan), Ferran Torres (Manchester City), Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid).

Luis Enrique's men were dominant throughout and took the lead through Fati's blasted effort early in the first half.

Gavi finished beautifully for their second before Williams added a third, and though Jordan scored a late consolation, Spain made it eight wins from their last 11 matches as they head to Qatar in excellent form.

Spain will now turn their attentions to putting together the finishing touches ahead of their World Cup campaign, having not made it past the round of 16 since winning the tournament in 2010.

Fati put Spain ahead after 13 minutes when Marco Asensio laid the ball off to him in the box before the Barcelona man's low shot went in under Jordan goalkeeper Abdallah Al Fakhouri.

Jordan had a great chance to level moments later, though Yazan Al Naimat could only fire straight at Robert Sanchez after catching Pau Torres in possession just outside Spain's box.

Fati nearly scored his second before the break, but his looping effort landed on top of the net as he continued to threaten down Spain's left.

Gavi made it 2-0 after the interval, the ball falling kindly for him in the box before the midfielder coolly stroked into the bottom right corner.

Williams scored a third with a sublime late strike, shifting onto his left foot before slamming into the far corner after receiving a pass from Yeremy Pino.

Jordan pulled a goal back in injury-time, Hamza Al Dardoor bringing a Mohammed Abu Zurayq cross from the right down before poking past substitute goalkeeper David Raya, though it was not enough to stop Spain from heading to the World Cup in high spirits.

The Dutchman is also focused on players who will enrich Barcelona for a new generation, offering advice to Ansu Fati and Pedri as the teenage duo make their mark at Camp Nou.

Maradona turned 60 on Friday and his overall impact on Barcelona during an often-chaotic two-year spell from 1982 to 1984 was such that he is fondly remembered.

Barcelona sent birthday greetings to the player who also scaled great heights with Napoli and Argentina and has now seemingly settled into coaching with Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata in his home country.

Maradona was widely considered the greatest player of his generation, while debate persists over which of Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo merits that mantle in this era.

As head coach at Barcelona, Koeman predictably sides with Messi, but he says the club's all-time record scorer and Maradona played in such different times it is difficult to judge who has been the greater.

When asked about Maradona, Koeman said: "In his time he was the best player. Today, for me, Messi is the best player."

Koeman and Maradona were peers, both playing at the 1990 and 1994 World Cups.

"You cannot compare the football of our time with the football of today," Koeman said. "Today it is more physical and more intense, it has changed a lot."

Koeman's legacy as coach at Camp Nou may be in priming the likes of teenagers Fati and Pedri for long and successful careers with Barcelona.

Fati turns 18 on Saturday, while 17-year-old Pedri has his birthday in November.

Both have the backing of Koeman, who has not shied away from using them in Barcelona's biggest games recently.

He started with the duo in El Clasico last weekend, with Fati scoring Barcelona's goal in a 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid. Pedri was then in the XI for the Champions League clash with Juventus on Wednesday, and Fati came on midway through the second half as the Blaugrana scored a morale-boosting 2-0 victory.

With four goals in his opening five LaLiga games this season, Fati is outshining even Messi, who has netted just once.

The Spain international has taken the two goalscoring opportunities defined by Opta as big chances for a 100 per cent record – a drastic early improvement on last season's 14.3 per cent in that regard.

His dribbling success is also nudging in the right direction, from 43.1 per cent in 2019-20 to 47.4 this term.

Pedri has only made two starts in LaLiga so far, but an 85.7 per cent passing accuracy rate is something for the former Las Palmas midfielder to build on, at a club where Sergio Busquets and former midfield lynchpin Xavi have in seasons gone by topped the 90 per cent mark.

Koeman says both can improve different aspects of their game, adding: "I tell everyone to enjoy the moment. It is not normal for two 17-year-old boys to play at this level.

"The advice to them is to be humble and work hard because a career is very long. These players that I have seen in these two, three months are very good people, they know what they have to do and they are training to improve.

"We are here to help them improve and enjoy their game and to be able to be with people like Messi, Busquets and other players."

Koeman and Fati have spoken this week about the forward's concentration, with the coach believing that to be a slight weakness in his game, explaining: "He is a great talent and we have to help him improve things. You have to be prepared every day to improve."

Prior to victory in Euro 2008, Spain had not won an international competition since 1964 and had been perennial underachievers. 

But that swiftly changed with the Euros win followed up by World Cup success in South Africa in 2010 before the successful defence of their continental crown.

The triumph in 2012 was the end of an era, however, with Spain eliminated in the group stages of the 2014 World Cup, bowing out at in the last 16 at Euro 2016 and then losing to hosts Russia on penalties at the 2018 World Cup.

However, a turn in fortunes was shown at Euro 2020, played in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, when Spain reached the semi-finals of the competition, narrowly losing to eventual champions Italy.

Now, all eyes are focused on Qatar this year. With Spain in a tough group alongside Germany, Japan and Costa Rica, a new dawn of young talents will be decisive to the hopes of the nation.
 

Pedri

Pedri's international debut came in Spain's second World Cup qualifying match against Georgia and he soon established himself as a core part of the squad for Euro 2020, where he played all but a single minute and was named Young Player of the Tournament.

In the semi-final against Italy, Pedri shone as he completed 65 of 67 passing attempts and overall at the tournament, he failed to complete just 40 of 461 attempts, resulting in a passing accuracy of 91 per cent.

Understandably, this has led to the general consensus that Pedri is the heir apparent to Xavi and Andres Iniesta, who were vital for Spain's glory years a decade ago, and under the stewardship of the former at Barcelona, expectations are high.

Still a teenager and only turning 20 in the days after what is expected to be his World Cup debut against Costa Rica on November 23, his calm and composed demeanour will help to keep Spain ticking through midfield in Qatar.

Gavi

The other half of Barcelona's exciting midfield duo, Gavi too has settled into Spain's international fold since his debut appearance in the semi-finals of the Nations League against Italy – where he became the youngest-ever player to represent Spain's senior squad.

A further record would tumble last month in the Nations League clash against the Czech Republic, where he became his country's youngest-ever scorer, and he has accumulated 10 appearances for his national side in less than a year.

Gavi's creativity has proven to be a stellar asset for his national side and his movement across the field, shown by his touches during his international career, is extremely difficult to track – and noticeably touches inside the box are few and far between.

Just 14 of 321 touches have come inside the 18-yard box, with his work tending to orientate from a deeper role. That is reflected by his passes – with just eight passing attempts inside the box and the remaining 234 coming outside.

Ansu Fati

Earning an international debut in September 2020 against Germany, then scoring a few days later against Ukraine, Ansu Fati notched up four caps for Spain before the close of that year but injury problems derailed his progress for club and country.

A nine-month absence began in November 2020, forcing him to miss the remainder of the season, and a further injury setback occurred in January this year which saw him miss three months of the campaign before his return in May.

While his international football has been limited ahead of the World Cup, expectations remain high at Barcelona where he has netted 19 goals during his career – with 15 of those strikes coming from inside the box.

That results in a significant asset for Spain, as Pedri and Gavi often provide the sort of passes that Fati thrives on.

Fati could prove particularly important given La Roja are limited with central options in the attacking third.

Eric Garcia

While not commanding as many headlines as other young talents within the Spain squad, Eric Garcia's role in the years ahead is vital given the ageing defensive line La Roja have at their disposal.

In the most recent call-ups in June, Garcia was the only defender under the age of 25 and one of only three beneath 30, alongside Pau Torres and Diego Llorente, which shows a clear changing of the guard lying ahead.

Garcia is likely to be one of the first names on Spain's teamsheet in the heart of defence, with 17 caps since making his international debut in 2020 and having started five of Spain's World Cup qualifying matches.

In true Spain style, one of his greatest assets is his ability on the ball and he showcased that last month in Spain's 2-0 Nations League against the Czech Republic, where Garcia completed 110 of 115 pass attempts.