Fati nets brace in Barcelona’s win

Fati, 17, latched on to a superb cross field ball from Lionel Messi and fired between the legs of Levante goalkeeper Aitor Fernandez to give Barcelona a deserved lead on the half-hour mark. The Guinea Bissau-born forward promptly linked up with Messi again to double Barcelona’s lead two minutes later.

He got some good fortune as the ball bobbled through the legs of Fernandez and into the net. Levante, which had beaten Barcelona 3-1 at home earlier this campaign, got a consolation goal in added time through Ruben Rochina. The forward had a chance to snatch an unlikely equaliser moments later but could not keep his shot under the bar.

The victory took second-placed Barcelona (46 points) to within three points of leader Real Madrid, which beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 in the city derby last Saturday. Elsewhere, Getafe (39 points) climbed to third place after winning 2-0 at Athletic Bilbao, leapfrogging Sevilla (39 points), which could only draw 1-1 at home to Alaves.

“This is all a dream. I dreamt of moments like this and I want to thank my teammates and coach for giving me another opportunity,” Fati told reporters. “It’s not easy to come into a team like this as a young boy but I’m very grateful for the support I’ve had. I’ve still got a lot more to come. I want to continue fighting for my place.”

Fati wrote his name in Barcelona’s history books last August by becoming the club’s youngest-ever league scorer with a goal against Osasuna while aged only 16. He made the most of a spate of injuries, which had afflicted the team’s forward line. Fati struck against Valencia a month later before drifting out of the team, although he made history again last December.

A goal against Inter Milan made him the youngest player to score in the Champions League. Injuries to Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele have given the youngster another run in the team and this was his fourth start under coach Quique Setien, who pledged to give young academy players a chance when he succeeded Ernesto Valverde in January.

Fati certainly made the most of this opportunity, dovetailing superbly with Messi and showing confidence in front of goal. He was not far from scoring a hat-trick, attempting an audacious bicycle-kick late which fizzed narrowly wide.

La Liga, Spain’s top division football league, celebrated its third anniversary in India on Saturday, since launching its second office in Asia in New Delhi. The three-year anniversary in India was celebrated in the presence of La Liga India Managing Director Jose Antonio Cachaza, La Liga delegate Gary Udhwani and La Liga India Brand Properties Head Aakriti Vohra at Instituto Cervantes here.