Gavi's Starter Debut This Season Does Not Run Smoothly

Gavi was disappointed that his debut as a starter this season did not run smoothly (Instagram/@pablogavi).

JAKARTA - Gavi has returned to the field after recovering from an ACL injury (anterior crude league) obtained in November 2023.

About a year, Gavi had to struggle in the treatment room. Only on October 20, 2024, he was finally played by Hansi Flick.

The first time Gavi appeared after an injury occurred against Sevilla in a 5-1 win.

However, the 20-year-old midfielder only played seven minutes. Five games after running Sevilla, Gavi began to regularly play Flick.

However, the German has not dared to play Gavi from the start or a lot of playing minutes.

Gavi's most minutes since starting play were 22 minutes when Barcelona played the Red Star in the Champions League. The rest, the midfielder packed the most seven minutes as a substitute.

After passing six matches from the bench, Flick finally gave Gavi the confidence to appear from the start when he visited Celta Vigo headquarters, November 23, 2024.

Gavi made his debut as a starter this season. Only, in that game, he hasn't played full. The midfielder only played 75 minutes before being replaced by few de Jong.

However, his first appearance as a starter did not go smoothly. Barcelona failed to win after ending the match with a score of 2-2.

He admitted that he was disappointed with the result and said the team wasted the match.

"I'm happy to be a starter for the first time in a year, but the most important thing today is to get the three points and that's not the case."

"We had the game, but the red card changed everything. Then, in two moves they scored two goals. The first goal was ridiculous, you had to block the ball."

"Then, with a lack of one player, it's hard to keep the three points, no matter which team you are."

"If you don't concentrate enough, this can happen. You've seen it here. We have to learn from here. We're moving on," Gavi said.

As is known, Barcelona had won 20 through goals from Raphinha (15') and Robert Lewandowski (61').

Disaster came in the 82nd minute when Marc Casado got a second yellow card. Losing the number of players made the Blaugrana complete.

Celta Vigo's revival began when they opened the scoring in the 84th minute which started with Jules Kounde's blunder.

The defender failed to backpass the Inaki Pena goalkeeper so that Alfon Gonzales could be captured, which eventually reduced the gap.

Two minutes later, Celta Vigo in one attack finally equalized through Hugo Alvarez.

The additional one point still makes Barcelona at the top of the 2024/2025 La Liga standings. The problem is, the difference in points with two tough competitors, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, is getting thinner.

The Blaugrana are only four points away from Los Blancos and five points from Rojiblancos.