Youthful Barcelona Smash Record That Evokes Memories of Pep Guardiola’s Team

Rodri’s debut off the bench took the lion’s share of the headlines on Thursday night, as Barcelona played their first home game of the season. However, it was the club’s youthful stars who helped set a new club record as Hansi Flick named the youngest starting XI in the Camp Nou’s history.

Barça’s team had a particularly homegrown feel for the clash against Athletic Club, with seven graduates of Barça’s famed La Masía academy included in the line up.

One of those seven, Fermín López, was on the scoresheet, while the other scorer in the 2–0 win, Raphinha, was one of only two foreign players in the team—along with Anthony Gordon.

Barça’s team was especially fresh-faced, with four players born in 2007—Lamine Yamal, Marc Bernal, Pau Cubarsí and left back Xavi Espart. Of all the starters, only Raphinha, 29, was born in the 20th century.

Winning With Kids

The 2007 generation ✨ pic.twitter.com/nkrtiIpItF
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) August 28, 2026

While Barça leaning on their own academy is nothing new, doing so to such a great extent evokes memories of Pep Guardiola’s iconic side that won the Champions League final in 2010–11 with a starting XI that also featured seven La Masía-raised stars.

Barça journalist and historian Oriol Jové notes that Thursday night’s lineup—with an average age of 23.18 years old—was the youngest ever fielded by a home manager at Camp Nou, surpassing the previous record of 23.26 set in a Champions League match against Bate Borisov back in 2011. This record, however, does not count a 1984 match against Real Zaragoza when then manager Terry Venables was forced to field an amateur team with an average age of just over 20 during a players strike.

Mundo Deportivo adds that Barcelona’s reliance on youth means they have the roster with the joint-youngest average age in La Liga this season (24.2), along with Levante. La Blaugrana are also ranked fifth in Europe’s top five leagues, with only Auxerre (23.6), Parma (23.4), Toulouse (22.5) and Strasbourg (22) having younger squads.

Inexperience has not proved a hurdle for Barça in early stages of the 2026–27 season, with Barcelona winning their first two matches, while scoring seven and conceding zero. Goalkeeper Joan García faced zero shots on target as Barça cantered to victory over Athletic Club on Thursday evening.

Espart Is Barcelona’s Latest ‘Incredible’ Prospect

Xavi Espart earned high praise for his performance. | David Ramirez/Soccrates/Getty Images

While the talents of Lamine and Cubarsí are well known, 19-year-old Espart is a name many fans are only just starting to get familiar with. The versatile teenager, who joined the club at U-10 level, made six appearances in all competitions last season and has impressed in both of Barcelona’s outings this term after being handed the No. 12 shirt.

“He's always focused, and tactically he's very good,” Flick said of Espart, who has started the campaign at left back, but can also operate on the right or in midfield. “He's a truly top player. I'm a little surprised by his composure, by how he plays... He's great. I think it's not easy for a footballer to play in that position, and he's done a great job, with and without the ball.”

Meanwhile post-match, Garcia described his young teammate as “incredible”, adding “I already feel a bit like a veteran at 25.”

On the season’s ambitions, he continued: “I see people very excited. We have a younger group than last year. We have a lot of energy, a real desire to do great things with many of our own players. We have a pretty complete squad and we can manage playing time. If we don't push ourselves, we won't achieve our goals. We're on the right track, but we've only just begun.”

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