Ansu Fati scored in Barcelona's 3-0 victory over Levante on Sunday, easing the strain on coach Ronald Koeman after a 10-month layoff due to injury.
Fati, who was donning the number 10 shirt once worn by Lionel Messi, returned to Camp Nou to a loud welcome 323 days after his last appearance in November of last year. And the 18-year-old came back with a bang, carrying the ball forward and slamming it into the net in injury time to give Barcelona a much-needed win.
Fati was thrown into the air by his teammates before climbing into the crowd behind the replacements bench to embrace members of his family and the club's medical staff. After three procedures to repair a major knee injury, many questioned if Fati would ever be able to return to the standards he displayed when he first broke into the first squad in 2019.
The teenager still has a long way to go, but his return, coupled with a beautiful goal, raised the roof at Camp Nou and brightened morale after a tumultuous few weeks dominated by rumours over Koeman's future. Even before Fati's dramatic intervention, there was newfound optimism inside the stadium. Koeman may not be saved by this result, and the club may decide to make a change during the forthcoming international break, but there was renewed positivity inside the stadium.
Barcelona took an early lead thanks to a penalty from Memphis Depay, and Luuk de Jong made it two with his first goal for the club since signing from Sevilla on the final day of the transfer window. But it was the 17-year-old Gavi and the 19-year-old Nico Gonzalez, both academy graduates, who wowed the crowd with displays that suggested Barca's youth may be the faces of the new age.
Puig, a popular alumnus of Barca's La Masia program, had had a warm greeting from the home crowd, but it was nothing compared to Fati's, who couldn't stop grinning as he heard the applause. A serpentine move across midfield was followed by the perfect finish, a low shot into the corner, and the grin quickly widened.
