Five games, five starts
Xavi Espart got off the mark for Barcelona on Sunday night at Levante. It was the first Blaugrana goal in a match the Catalans went on to win 4-2. The 19-year-old left-back has now started all five opening La Liga fixtures, no questions asked.
The La Masia graduate was not supposed to be here this summer. Alejandro Balde had the left flank covered, while Joao Cancelo was supposed to provide the experience behind him. Hansi Flick decided otherwise in August, and the pecking order has barely shifted since.
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The Spanish press has already made up its mind
The real shift came on Monday morning. The Spanish media are no longer treating this as a pleasant surprise. They are calling him an established starter.
Jordi Marti summed it up bluntly on Cadena SER: “Listen, Espart has made the left side his own. He has taken full advantage of his talent, his ambition and the fact that Balde is not at 100%. He saw an opening and he’s running with it. Xavi Espart is a starter.” On El Chiringuito, Lobo Carrasco went even further: “Espart gives us one more player. When Barca have the ball, he is an extra midfielder.”
That line tells you plenty about how Flick sees the role. The left-back is not glued to the touchline any more. He steps inside with the ball, adds numbers in midfield and frees up the winger ahead of him. Espart is doing all of that at an age when most players are still just getting their first taste of senior football.
Barca have been here before, just not like this
Throwing teenagers in at the deep end is part of the club’s DNA. Lamine Yamal made his first-team debut at 15 in spring 2023 and is now a Ballon d’Or contender. That is where the comparison ends: a winger who beats defenders and grabs the headlines is one thing, a left-back who holds his spot for five straight matches at 19 is another.
For Flick, the equation is a simple one. Balde is not at full physical sharpness, Cancelo is getting older, and the European schedule will soon start to bite. Having a homegrown player who already knows the system takes pressure off the rotation and, let’s be honest, off the wage bill too.
The hard part starts now. Five matches is one thing; a full season is another. And La Liga never waits around. The next test arrives at the Camp Nou this week.
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