Barcelona midfielder suffered a discomfort after the Mallorca win last night, with UCL clash ahead.
Following a tight 1-0 victory over Mallorca away from home in the La Liga 2022–23 season, Barcelona celebrated their sixth straight victory. Robert Lewandowski’s lone goal, which decided the match, raised a late question about a particular Gavi.
The 18-year-old, who started alongside Franck Kessie and Sergio Busquets, displayed some obvious pain in the game’s closing stages, and it came as a surprise to everyone when manager Xavi chose to keep him on the field.
Barcelona had a one-goal advantage, therefore the club required defensive sturdiness and someone who could take advantage of counterattacks. In exchange, Xavi kept Gavi on the pitch and brought in Ferran Torres for Ousmane Dembele and Sergi Roberto for Jordi Alba.
The 18-year-old, who was clearly frustrated by the alterations, did not hold back from expressing his surprise at them, according to Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo.
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It should be noted that despite making four substitutions, Xavi had the option of benching Gavi, but he ended up playing the full 90 minutes.
The fact that his discomfort was not something catastrophic, however, is still a positive. In addition, he will be eligible for selection against Inter in the crucial UEFA Champions League matchup despite starting seven of the nine games he has played in this season and being available for the most of them.
Interestingly, Gavi has started off the bench in only two of Barcelona’s nine competitive matches this season—against Elche and Viktoria Plzen.
In addition, while representing Spain internationally, he played the whole 90 minutes against Switzerland and a brief cameo against Portugal.
Sadly, despite playing a lot of minutes this season, the 18-year-old has yet to score for Barcelona. In addition, he has yet to record an assist while averaging 1.9 vital passes per game in La Liga.
