Ilaix moves ahead of Riqui Puig

Published on: 28 February 2021

Injury to Pedri on Saturday as Barcelona beat Sevilla means that Ronald Koeman has a hole to fill in midfield ahead of the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg against the same opponents.

It had been expected that it would be Riqui Puig who would take up that role for the rest of Saturday's match, but, at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan,Koeman sprung a surprise and brought on 18-year-old Ilaix Moriba.

The teenager played only 19 minutes but showed what he could do, linking up well in attack and even providing the assist for Lionel Messi's goal.

Pedri appears to have a muscle injury which could see him miss several games and at the very least the tie with Sevilla on Wednesday in the Copa del Rey.

With Miralem Pjanic also injured, Koeman is still likely to stick to the 3-5-2 formation which beat Sevilla in LaLiga Santander.

Koeman's dilemma

The Dutch coach has given opportunities to Puig, slowly but surely, but he did recommended that he go elsewhere on loan to get more game time.

His decision to bring on Ilaix instead of the playmaker could be another sign that Koeman is far from convinced.

Koeman spoke after Saturday's win to stress the importance of fitness work and pressing, and that could give the advantage to Illaix over Puig given the profiles of the two players.

There is a tough call for the coach to make. But, whatever happens, Pedri's absence will most certainly be noted in the second leg.

Source: m.allfootballapp.com

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