“Paving his way to being among the best”, “The timing could not have been any better” – Barcelona fans excited with "very impressive" display from breakout star in win over Elche
Barcelona fans have reason to be pleased after their strong win against Elche, which put the Catalan giants at the top of the La Liga table. While a number of players were impressive, fans garnered special praise for youngster Alejandro Balde, who had two assists.
The left-back has been touted as a replacement for Barcelona legend Jordi Alba. Although he is just 18 years old, Balde has already racked up some impressive performances. He has already started five games in La Liga this season, with three assists under his belt.
Taking to Twitter, the Camp Nou faithful were quick to lavish praise on Balde. Here is a selection of their tweets:
Remember people, it’s not too late to invest in Balde stocks this season.
Already 3 assists this season and he’s only 18 YEARS OLD 🔥 https://t.co/Fe93GCfAIH
Balde ain’t here to joke around https://t.co/n3XzelK6eS
Alex Balde is the only player under the age of 19 to give 3 assists in the top5 leagues this season. https://t.co/rEAD0hlXju
Balde has more assist today than Toni Kroos soo far this season
Balde with 3 assists in five 5 - very impressive. He’s been excellent today, probably his best half of football for the senior team!
Balde is paving his way to being among the best LB in the world💥💫👏 https://t.co/uGBQcZSUGC
So so so happy Balde is breaking through this season, I didn’t expect it, but the timing could not have been any better
Balde should have played against Bayern - The boy is so good
Balde is exactly what we needed for that left back position, only 19 years old what a player 🔥🔥
Barcelona record strong win against 10-man Elche
Relegation-bound Elche could do next to nothing when they faced Catalan giants Barcelona on Saturday. In a dominant performance that saw Elche go down to 10 players and have their manager sent off, the Blaugrana got the result that was expected of them.
Polish striker Robert Lewandowski was expected to have a say in proceedings, and he matched those expectations, bagging a brace to boot. The Catalans controlled the game from the very beginning and Elche got in trouble when they went down to 10 men in the 14th minute.
Gonzalo Verdu was sent off for impeding a clear goal-scoring opportunity when he brought down Lewandowski.
Barcelona ruthlessly exploited their numerical advantage as the Catalans took the lead 20 minutes after the sending off. It was young left-back Alejandro Balde who provided Lewandowski with the chance and the Polish striker did not miss the target.
Balde turned provider again shortly after with his second assist of the first half. The left-back found Dutch forward Memphis Depay in front of goal, who in turn found the back of the net in spectacular fashion.
Lewandowski grabbed his brace early in the second half with a fine strike in the 48th minute. However, the Catalans could not score again despite controlling the game right up to the final whistle. Now in the top spot of the La Liga table, they will hope that arch rivals Real Madrid lose against Atletico Madrid on Sunday.