Is it time to get excited about a La Masia product again?
Though his was only a cameo role against Villarreal, Carles Alena looked completely at home and settled in the Barca midfield, quickly getting involved and making the game safe on 87 minutes with the deftest of finishes.
It could’ve been Messi applying the coup de grace, and the captain will surely have enjoyed seeing the youngster fire home his first ever in the senior team, from his own immaculate assist.
Alena has spent his entire career at Barcelona and we’ve seen him sporadically in the first team, usually in the earlier rounds of the Copa del Rey.