Teenage debutant Marc Guiu said he would not be able to sleep after snatching champions Barcelona a 1-0 win over Athletic Bilbao just seconds after coming on from the bench on Sunday in La Liga, taking the Catalans up to third.
Xavi Hernandez’s Barca are to face leaders Real Madrid on Saturday in El Clasico just one point behind their bitter rivals, and second-placed Girona, who beat Almeria 5-2 earlier on.
For a long time it seemed like Barcelona would not find the breakthrough against their Basque visitors, but striker Guiu, 17, netted under a minute after being thrown on by Xavi.
Photo: AFP
The forward was slipped in by the silky Joao Felix and slotted past Unai Simon, who got a hand to his shot, but could not keep it out.
“Tonight I won’t sleep,” Guiu told DAZN. “I can’t believe it. I can barely breathe. I’m enjoying the moment.”
Guiu became the latest on a conveyor belt of young players to make their debuts for Barca as their La Masia de Can Planes academy continues to produce gems.
“It surprises me that they aren’t scared. I see them with a spark, they look at me with a face saying: ‘Put me on, you’ll see that it will go well,’” Xavi said. “I saw that with Gavi, [Alejandro] Balde, Lamine [Yamal], Fermin [Lopez] and with Marc. He doesn’t look afraid.”
Xavi brought on Guiu in the 79th minute and with his first touch he broke into the area and then with another confidently fired past Simon.
“It’s the best day of his life, surely,” Xavi said.
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
‘SETTING THE TONE’: Donovan Mitchell said that their determination to dominate had nothing to do with past results, but was about a potential post-season clash The Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday boosted their NBA-best record with a 142-105 romp past the New York Knicks, tightening their grip on the Eastern Conference lead with an all-around dominant display. Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points to lead six Cavs players to score in double figures, connecting on five of seven three-pointers as Cleveland drilled 19 from beyond the arc. “I think the biggest thing was just try to set the tone early,” Mitchell said, adding that the determination to dominate had nothing to do with the Knicks’ first-round playoff win over the Cavs two seasons ago and everything to do with
BELGIANS ADVANCE: Club Brugge gave Atalanta a lesson in efficiency, as Gian Piero Gasperini’s team had 29 efforts at goal, compared with seven from the visitors Seldom has a player’s sending off had such an influence on a game. AC Milan was to left rue Theo Hernandez’s second yellow card — for diving — as Feyenoord advanced to the UEFA Champions League last 16 at the former European champion’s expense with a 1-1 draw in the second leg of their playoff on Tuesday, giving the Dutch team a 2-1 win on aggregate. Bayern Munich, Club Brugge and Benfica also won their playoffs, eliminating Celtic, UEFA Europa League winner Atalanta BC and French team AS Monaco respectively. “In soccer everything changes in a second,” said Milan forward
RSS