Hamza Abdelkarim explodes in joy after brace for Barcelona vs Birmingham City: ‘Hopefully more of this’ | OneFootball

Last night, Barcelona played their first pre-season friendly in England as they took on Birmingham with an academy star-filled team.

The game eventually fizzled out to a 2-2 draw, before the Blaugrana lost in the subsequent penalty shootout.

And, while the defensive performance was poor, there were positive takeaways for Hansi Flick.

One of them was the performance of Hamza Abdelkarim who not only started but scored both of Barcelona’s goals on the night, one of which was a penalty that he himself won.

At a time when Barcelona are struggling to complete the signing of a new centre-forward, Hamza’s performance hands the administration reason to be optimistic.

Goalscorer speaks

Speaking to the media after the draw against Birmingham, Hamza Abdelkarim expressed his joy at scoring his first goal for the Barcelona first-team which was made sweeter when he converted it into a brace.

“It’s been amazing, of course. I am very happy and I hope that the team and I can continue to work and improve in each game.”

Hamza scored twice last night. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Praising the opposition for the fight they put up and the two goals they scored on the night, the striker said,

“Birmingham was a tough team, they were physical and it was noticeable on the field.”

The striker was undoubtedly disappointed with the result and admitted the same, although he admitted that it was just the start and that matters would get better.

“We improve every game. We are still a young team, so we are getting to know each other better on the field and that is generating confidence in the whole team,” he added.

Finally, he was asked what he expected from the coming months at Barcelona, to which he stated he wished to keep scoring goals.

“Hopefully more of this.”

Hamza could have a huge season ahead

As matters stand, Barcelona do not appear to have great options on the centre-forward market. Having lost out on Robert Lewandowski as well, they do not have a natural striker in the side.

Hansi Flick could count heavily on Hamza. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

The Julian Alvarez dream grows distant with every passing day while Eli Junior Kroupi’s fracture makes his signing impossible. In any sense, Barcelona are stuck without a natural striker at this point.

Hamza, for long, has been seen as a promising talent, and with no clear candidate at the club for the striker position, he could well be the chosen one once the season begins.

He will certainly have regular minutes off the bench in the coming season, but strong performances in pre-season could also make a case for him to be a starter under Hansi Flick.

Source: Mundo Deportivo