Following Manchester United’s interest (and two offers) over the summer, Cesc Fabregas just needed three minutes of the new season to demonstrate why Barcelona would be crazy to let him go. Fabregas was through on goal after Xavi’s ball was caught. Although he had the chance to score himself, he gave the ball to an unmarked Alexis Sanchez, who was able to tap it in to start Barcelona’s 7-0 annihilation of Levante.
Ten minutes later, Lionel Messi received the ball from Fabregas, who was serving as the target man and played a one-two with Pedro to put his name on the scoresheet.
After another 10 minutes of tiki-taka, Fabregas received a pass from Messi that split the defense. The goalkeeper parried the ball to Dani Alves’ waiting feet after the Spaniard attempted to slip it past him. Xavi was able to nudge past the goalkeeper after receiving a superbly weighted pass from Fabregas just before the halftime horn.
By that point, Barcelona had scored six goals. Fabregas, who replaced Andres Iniesta in the lineup, was given a podium by manager Gerardo Martino and excelled in his role as the team’s most advanced midfielder.
Although Barcelona may have let up a bit in the second half, Fabregas continued where he left off. The 26-year-old was the focus of the game for ten minutes in the second half. Six yards from the goal, the defender missed a beautiful lob to Pique, while Messi suddenly fluffed his lines. On the left wing, Fabregas would put Adriano up, but the full-back could only fire directly at the goalkeeper.
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Fabregas was moved further forward—almost in a false-nine role—after the unexpected substitution of Messi and the insertion of Iniesta. Fabregas took advantage of a defensive blunder to get around the goalkeeper and put the ball at his feet. On the commentary, former Northern Ireland striker Gerry Armstrong expressed his desire for him to get “the goal he deserved.” However, Pedro received a straightforward feed from Fabregas and scored the game’s second goal.
