Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde heaped praise on Ansu Fati after they won in a 5-2 against Valencia at Camp Nou on Sunday morning.
The 16-years-old forward opened his first goal after two minutes before setting up Barca defender Frenkie De Jong. Gerrard Pique and Luis Suarez, meanwhile, sealed points after the break.
“It is not easy for anyone to play for Barca, even less so for someone as young as Ansu Fati. It is not normal for him to score on the first ball, assist in the second,” Valverde said.
“Everything will be normalised, we are interested in him getting to know himself, that he realizes that this is very complicated.
“Wherever you are, the player who earns his place is the one that plays, there is no secret, the coaches want players to come out; if they are young and have energy you use them. Ansu has qualities that suit us, we will see the potential he has.” Valverde added.
When asked about Fati comparisons to Lionel Messi, Valverde said he doesn’t care about the issue.
“I do not care if Ansu Fati’s start has been compared with Messi’s.” Valverde said.
Barcelona came into this match still without their superstar Messi dan Ousmane Dembele. However, both players back in training ahead of Borussia Dortmund clash on Tuesday night.
“Messi is a very, very important player for us I can’t deny that. But there have been other times when he hasn’t played and we’ve got through games well. He had the arm problem last year and the team responded very well.” Valverde said.
“Of course he’s decisive player, he can change games because of what he does not just to our players but to the opposition as well.
“He’s the best player in the world, we want him back as soon as possible, but we want him back at full fitness, not coming back and then having a setback.” the Spaniard added.
After Sunday’s win puts the Blaugrana back into fifth place in the LaLiga table, they are three points behind of table leaders Sevilla.
