Pedri has been hailed as a result of his extraordinary performance against an experienced Sevilla side on Sunday.
Sevilla’s La Liga title challenge was all but finished after a night at the Camp Nou that established they’d been drawn into a struggle for the top four. Barcelona foresaw Sevilla adopting a customary compact defensive system in a bid to interrupt their rich vein of form.
As a result, the Blaugrana started the match with a strong lead but were unable to accomplish anything memorable. Ousmane Dembélé was the main provider, and he had definitely been ordered to menace the Sevilla low-block with a run of crosses.
Ferran Torres cut in from the left flank on a pretty regular basis, but neither winger was capable of making an early impact.
Sevilla started to play rather rapidly, and as halftime approached, the visitors had a fair measure of influence.
Despite the fact that neither team had troubled the opposing goalkeeper – the game’s first shot on target came in the 39th minute – the dominant impression was that Sevilla had held their own against Barça’s opening pressure.
The game continued tremendously in the second half, with a clear pattern of play: Barcelona, enjoying possession, sought to break Sevilla’s sturdiness, while the visitors sought to exploit the opening. Lucas Ocampos, who was unmarked at the time, just skied Navas’s pass in the 56th minute.
Pedri was a man whose effect on the game had only been developing. In creative midfield, the small teenager was twisting the strings and provided us a little appetizer in the 50th minute. Before his cut-back was denied, he danced past three Sevilla defenders.
Pedri, on the other hand, made his impact 22 minutes later with a stroke of extraordinary brilliance. Pedri ghosted in from near Sevilla, past Yassine Bono’s reach, escaping the diving tackles of Rakitic and Diego Carlos.
The Moroccan goalkeeper had already kept Barça at bay, but Pedri’s magnificence was one too many times. At the age of 19, Pedri is gradually progressing from ‘Finest Young Player’ to one of the top players in the world.
The Camp Nou granted Ousmane Dembélé a standing ovation, an astonishing turnaround of events just weeks after he was severely booed amid his contract renewal disputes.
The Frenchman has secured his redemption after creating a constant supply on the right-wing throughout the evening. He made 15 crosses, one of which culminated in his tenth assist of the season, placing him one assist below the top Karim Benzema of Real Madrid.
