The 20-year-old has set two goals at Mendizorroza as he has added to his list of impressive hits in recent weeks.
Riqui Puig stays with Barca’s first team
Riqui Puig was one of Barcelona’s great performers in their final match of the season in LaLiga. The 20-year-old has set two goals at Mendizorroza as he has added to his list of impressive hits in recent weeks. The midfielder is one of the great beneficiaries of the season’s delay, as he is now a strong challenger to start in the last stages of the Champions League. Barcelona decided on Monday that neither Puig nor Ansu Fati would join Barcelona B for the Segunda B playoff campaign. Instead, the two youngsters will remain with the first team, although it is unclear where Puig will play next season. The first team coaches were delighted with his performance, but the final decision will not be made until the end of the campaign.
Puig is their brightest prospects
Puig has played 12 games for Barcelona’s first team this season, all under the leadership of Quique Setien, and ten of them since the campaign break. Injuries to players in his position have seen the Spaniard’s role in the squad grow in recent games, in which he started five of his last six in LaLiga. Riqui Puig’s two assists against Alaves, one for Lionel Messi and one for Nelson Semedo, led him to Barcelona’s history. At 20 years and 341 days, he became the youngest player to have two assists in one league game for a Catalan club since Thiago Alcantara (20 years and 140 days) did so in 2011. It is the latest indication that the midfielder is here to stay in the first team, at least for now.
It hasn’t been decided whether Puig will stay with the first team or not next season because while he is one of their brightest prospects, the club wants him to mature and get playing time.