'Ridiculously good' - Man Utd legend Hargreaves hails 17yo Barcelona CB Cubarsí for caging Osimhen 

Manchester United legend Owen Hargreaves waxed lyrical about Barcelona's new kid on the block Pau Cubarsí for his outstanding performance in the Champions League clash between the Spanish giants and Napoli on Tuesday night.

Aged 17 years and 50 days yesterday, Cubarsí became the youngest player in history to debut in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League, breaking the record previously held by cap-tied Austria international of Nigerian descent David Alaba.

In the opening minute of the game, Napoli's dangerman Victor Osimhen managed to break through the Barcelona defense, but Cubarsí thwarted a potential goalscoring opportunity with a tackle.

Despite the likes of Robert Lewandowski, João Cancelo, Andreas Christensen, İlkay Gündoğan and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia on parade at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Hargreaves reckons Cubarsí was the most outstanding player on the pitch and praised the teenager for going toe-to-toe with one of the most feared strikers in Europe, Osimhen. 

Cubarsí's display against Napoli has seen him draw comparisons to legendary Barcelona central defender Ronald Koeman. 

 Cubarsí was picked as Player of the Match by UEFA's Technical Observer Panel for his brilliant and brave performance..

Speaking as a pundit for TNT Sports, Hargreaves said: "He was the star of the show. This kid was picking out passes for fun, he made it look so easy. He was physical when he needed to be, for a Spanish centre-back to be as physical against somebody like Osimhen is quite rare. 

"His awareness, everything, he's 17 in his first start. He played ridiculously good. That's a star now and a star of the future."

Cubarsí had eleven games under his belt for Barcelona's first team prior to the Champions League round of 16 second leg clash against Napoli.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

Photo Credit: fcbarcelona.com

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