Barcelona will be getting their hands on European silverware after all as a double from 17-year-old starlet Alejandro Marques saw their youth side ease past Chelsea 3-0 in the UEFA Youth League final in Nyon.
The 6-foot-2 striker, who made his Barcelona B debut in March, had Abel Ruiz to thank for a wonderful assist in the first half before crashing a header home.
Marques then ensured that Barca took home the trophy for the first time since the inaugural UEFA Youth League in 2014 after capitalising on a defensive mistake.
In injury-time Ruiz, got a goal his performance richly deserved following a slight deflection.
Chelsea started the match the brightest with Harvey St Clair showing pace and trickery down the right-hand side.
But midfielder Ricard Puig, the star of Barca’s semi-final victory over Manchester City, began to take charge and probe Chelsea’s defence.
The Catalans’ pressure told on the half-hour – and it took a magical piece of skill from Ruiz to pull it off.
Having shaken off attention near the halfway line, Ruiz stormed down the left, played a one-two and then a perfect cross for Marques’ bullet diving header.
Mere minutes into the second half Marques grabbed his second. This was one was all about sheer persistence, as he caught defender Marc Guehi in possession and rasped a shot into the bottom corner.
⚽ Min 50 GOOOOOOOOOOOL D'ALEJANDRO MARQUEEEEESS!!!! GOOOOOOOL DEL @FCBmasia (0-2) #ChelseaBarça #UYL pic.twitter.com/fbTBTHX78a
— FC Barcelona - Masia (@FCBmasia) April 23, 2018
Chelsea had their chances to get back into the game, not least through Luke McCormick’s audacious overhead kick that cleared the far post by inches.
On the hour mark the breakthrough nearly came – only for Callum Hudson-Odoi’s free-kick to rebound off the post.
Just as so many of the senior sides have done down the years, however, Barcelona began to control the game with their precision passing in midfield.
Chelsea did one final opportunity but substitute Charlie Brown’s header could only shave the crossbar.
Ruiz then rubbed salt in the wounds by firing in a low strike that took a ricochet on the way through.
