“Xavi gave me all the details” – 17-year-old Barca defender reveals how he was able to keep Osimhen quiet

Barcelona defender, Pau Cubarsi, has revealed how he was able to stop Napoli striker, Victor Osimhen, from causing any danger in their UEFA Champions League clash last night, Soccernet.ng reports.

Cubarsi, 17, is in his first season as a professional football player, and made his UEFA Champions League debut last night, and barely put a foot wrong.

Partnered with Ronald Araujo in the heart of the Blaugrana defence, Napoli were limited to four shots on target, with Osimhen having just one.

Robert Lewandowski and Osimhen scored at the Estadio Diego Armando Maradona in the first leg, but a quick-fire double in the first half from Fermin Lopez and Joao Cancelo shell-shocked Napoli.

Amir Rrahmani pulled one back for the defending Serie A Champions, but a late goal from Robert Lewandowski at the Olympic Stadium sealed Barcelona’s place in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals after winning the game 4-2 on aggregate.

Cubarsi, from the famous La Masia academy of Barcelona, was given the man of the match award after a brilliant display and gave credit to the club’s coach, Xavi Hernandez, for giving him the tools to lock down last season’s Serie A top scorer.

“Xavi gave me the details on what to do to stop Osimhen, and the fans in the stands helped us a lot, they were the 12th player. It’s an honour to make my Champions League debut by winning the Man of the Match award and reaching the quarter-finals,” the 17-year-old said in quotes revealed by Get Football Spain.

Cubarsi also won all six of his ground duels in the game, majorly against Osimhen. He also made 5 clearances and had a 90% pass accuracy. The youngster was simply tremendous.

Xavi was equally full of praise for the Spanish youngster, praising his composure in such a high-tension game.

“Cubarsí was never nervous, always finding the free man. He creates time for himself, he dictates the tempo. It’s simply spectacular watching him play.”