Barcelona midfield prodigy takes baby steps against Valencia, offers a lot of promise – Opinion | OneFootball

Of the many positives for FC Barcelona in the 6-0 win over Valencia last night, arguably the biggest was the return of midfield prodigy Marc Bernal. Almost exactly a year ago, he suffered an ACL injury against Rayo Vallecano, and it has taken him the entire year to make a complete recovery.

Against Valencia, Hansi Flick introduced the 18-year-old midfielder in place of Pedri for the final ten minutes, carefully easing him back into action. The Estadi Johan Cruyff rose to its feet, with coaching staff and players joining the supporters in giving Bernal a rousing ovation as he stepped onto the pitch.

Interestingly, despite naturally being a pivot, Bernal was tasked with playing the Pedri role, slightly ahead of Marc Casado. The Spaniard was taking baby steps after what had been a horrid last year, but his cameo offered a lot of promise.

Bernal showed no signs of rust, immediately seeming on the same page as his teammates, and he played neat, tidy passes to keep the game flowing. He ensured there was no drop-off in control once Pedri was taken off the pitch.

The icing on the cake was Bernal cleverly slipping a through ball that bisected Valencia’s defence and found Robert Lewandowski. The Pole took it in his stride and delicately chipped over the goalkeeper for Barcelona’s sixth goal of the night.

Bernal showed great awareness to pick Lewandowski out, and it was a moment the teenager deserved after everything he had been through. Providing an assist in his comeback game should do his confidence the world of good.

The teenager is coming off a long lay-off, and, as with Gavi last season, Hansi Flick is likely to err on the side of caution with Bernal. This basically means Barcelona fans will have to keep their expectations realistic about how much they see him play, at least until January.

Although Bernal played as an #8 yesterday, his future undoubtedly lies at #6. A player who possesses so much time and poise on the ball is Barca-coded, and if he continues to develop and progress, he is bound to become one of the best in the world in his position, sooner rather than later. It will be interesting to track how his career progresses.