Martin Braithwaite scored his first goal for Barcelona on Saturday. The Catalan side ran out 4-0 winners over RCD Mallorca as La Liga action returned.
Braithwaite smashed in Barca’s second after 37 minutes and put in a solid performance. Barcelona moved for the Dane in the midst of a severe injury crisis. Ultimately, he signed as a back-up at the Camp Nou.
However, the striker showed glimpses of his quality on Saturday that led Quiquen Setien to move for the 29-year-old.
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Braithwaite Impresses
Starting on the left of a three-man attack with Antoine Griezmann and Lionel Messi, Braithwaite threatened throughout the match.
The striker attempted three shots throughout the match. Only Messi, who also scored, attempted the same number for Barcelona. He also took up some excellent attacking positions in the final third.
Braithwaite’s first goal showed the type of attacking threat he displayed for CD Leganes, where he scored 13 goals before moving to Barca. Messi rushed on to a loose ball in Mallorca’s penalty area and nodded on to Braithwaite, who peeled intelligently off his marker, found a spare yard and smashed the ball past Manolo Reina for Barcelona’s second goal.
At the start of the second half, he showed his intelligent movement again. Messi drove in from the right, Braithwaite drifted from the left into the box, turned his marker with ease and forced an excellent save from Reina.
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It was an impressive performance from Braithwaite. Although he might not find the same amount of space against stronger opposition, he put in an eye-catching performance, linked well with Messi and created space moving in from the left throughout the match.
The 29-year-old was certainly more active than Greizmann. The French international didn’t register a shot on goal all game. He looked off the pace and was taken off by Setien after just 57 minutes.
Based on this performance, Setien will surely be tempted to try the trio of Messi, Luis Suarez and Braithwaite as opposed to Greizmann.
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