Barcelona's Rising Stars Earn Praise from Robert Lewandowski Following Stunning Comeback Victory over Valencia

On August 17, in the Spanish La Liga season opener, Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski expressed his pride in his team's performance in the thrilling 2-1 comeback victory against Valencia. He commended the resilience and determination shown by the young players who stepped up in place of injured teammates.

With Ilkay Gundogan, Pedri, Gavi, Ronald Araujo and Frenkie de Jong all out, new manager Hansi Flick gave 20-year-old academy midfielder Marc Casado his senior debut, playing alongside three 17-year-olds in Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsi and Marc Bernal.

Nevertheless, Barca showed enough strength to fight back and win thanks to a Lewandowski brace.

“It was very important to start with a win in such a difficult stadium and with the problems we faced,” the 35-year-old Pole told Movistar Plus.

“We didn’t play well for the first 20 to 25 minutes. In the first half we had problems to get close to their box but then we started playing much better and we did it with three or four very young players.

“If you can win like this with such young players it is something special and they have shown a big potential. No signs of the lack of experience, they played very well with possession and without the ball. We could have won by a larger margin, but it’s great to start the season with a win.”

Hugo Duro sent the hosts ahead after 44 minutes but veteran Polish striker Lewandowski levelled from close range before the break and netted a penalty early in the second half.

Barcelona’s summer signing Dani Olmo is not yet registered to play and Flick said the playmaker still needs to get up to speed in terms of fitness.

The former Bayern Munich boss was happier with his team’s second-half display than the first.

“The second half was much better than the first half (where) we made a lot of mistakes,” the German said. “We came back at the end of the first half and in the second half, we did much better.”

Yamal, whose father was stabbed earlier this week in a violent attack but in a stable condition, was applauded by some Valencia fans after being substituted for his impressive performances with Spain as they won Euro 2024 in July.

“Lamine is a great player and I think everyone loves to see him playing football... I think you can say all the world likes to see him play,” added Flick. , AFP