Barcelona teen defender Pau Cubarsi has detailed how he was able to stop reigning Africa’s best player Victor Osimhen from scoring in their UEFA Champions League game on Tuesday.
Barcelona defeated Napoli 3-1 on the night to book a place in the quarter-finals.
Cubarsi, made his Champions League debut against the Partenopei, personally designated to mark out Osimhen in the game, which he did to perfection.
During the game, Cubarsi, 17, produced a timely tackle to stop Osimhen on his way to goal.
The Barcelona centre-back also stopped the Nigerian from connecting to a dangerous cut-back from Zambo Anguissa.
Osimhen managed just one shot on target for the entire duration of the game.
“Xavi (Barcelona coach) gave me all the details to try and stop Osimhen,” the youngster said after the game.
Cubarsi was named Man of the Match after the match.
Cubarsi, others inspire Barcelona to reach UCL quarter-finals
Barcelona survived a nervy second half to beat Napoli 3-1 on Tuesday and reach the Champions League quarter-finals 4-2 on aggregate.
Xavi Hernandez’s side came flying out of the blocks with goals from Fermin Lopez and Joao Cancelo but after Amir Rrahmani pulled one back, the Catalans started to sweat.
Italian champions Napoli, who salvaged a 1-1 draw in the last-16 first leg, were finally beaten when Robert Lewandowski swept home from close range.
It is the first time four-time winners Barcelona have reached the last eight of the competition since 2020, and they did so without injured midfield trio Pedri, Gavi and Frenkie de Jong.
Coach Xavi Hernandez said he was leaving at the end of the season in January and his team have gone on a run of nine games without defeat after that decision.
Teenage stars Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi have been key in that run, and both excelled against Napoli on a night which offered some relief to Barcelona amid a bleak season.
Xavi demanded the fans turn their temporary Olympic Stadium home on the city’s Montjuic hill into a pressure cooker, and they duly obliged. Over 50,000 spectators marked the club’s largest attendance this season.
Francesco Calzona’s Napoli wilted as the Spanish champions came out of the blocks flying.
Electric 16-year-old winger Yamal made strong inroads down the right and curled over in the opening stages.
The best chances fell to Lopez and the 20-year-old opened the scoring with his third attempt after 15 minutes.
