Barcelona midfielder finished Mallorca game with discomfort – report

Barcelona celebrated their sixth successive victory of the La Liga 2022-23 season following a narrow 1-0 win over Mallorca away from home. The game, which was decided through Robert Lewandowski’s only goal, put forward a late concern for a certain Gavi.

The 18-year-old, who started alongside Sergio Busquets and Franck Kessie, showed some evident discomfort towards the final stretch of the game and his malaise turned into a surprise when manager, Xavi, decided to keep him on the field.

With Barcelona leading through a solitary goal, the team needed defensive solidity while bringing someone who could capitalize on the counters. In turn, Xavi brought Ferran Torres for Ousmane Dembele and Sergi Roberto for Jordi Alba while keeping Gavi on the field.

As reported by Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo, the 18-year-old did not shy away from showing his surprise towards the changes as his evident frustration was captured by the TV3 cameras.

It must be noted that despite making four changes, Xavi could have taken Gavi off, but he ended up playing full minutes after all.

Good thing, however, remains the fact that there is nothing serious about the discomfort he showed. And despite being available for a majority of games this season – starting seven of the nine games so far – he will be available for selection against Inter in the all-important UEFA Champions League clash.

Interestingly enough, Gavi has appeared in each of Barcelona’s nine competitive games this season, starting from the bench only against Elche and Viktoria Plzen. On top of that, he also got to play full 90 minutes against Switzerland while on international duty with Spain and also played a 30-minute cameo against Portugal.

Sadly enough, despite the abundance of minutes, the 18-year-old is yet to open his account for Barcelona this season. Furthermore, despite averaging 1.9 key passes per game in La Liga, he is yet to register an assist as well.

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