Ansu Fati ‘denied man-of-match because of age’

Fati caught the eye again as Barcelona started the new season with a convincing win

It was, without a shadow of a doubt, a man-of-the-match performance from Ansu Fati on Sunday night - even if not officially recognised as being so. With Barcelona returning to La Liga action after a turbulent summer, the 17-year-old had helped himself to two goals inside the first 20 minutes to put Ronald Koeman's side in cruise control against Villarreal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9kzzmhUZOg&feature=onebox Lionel Messi was then able to score the first goal of what looks to be his final season as a Barca player after Fati had won a penalty kick. In the final seconds of the first half Villarreal conceded a fourth as Pau Torres turned a Messi pass into his own net. Mercifully for the visitors, there were no more goals after the interval. Though much of the talk prior to the game had been about Messi's return, afterwards, it was all about the teenager many are tipping to help fill the void the Argentine is expected to leave in the next 12 months. Fati has already made plenty of waves in his short time as a professional footballer. He became Barca's second youngest debutant in history - aged 16 years, 298 days - in a game against Real Betis last season, before becoming the club's youngest ever goalscorer only six days after his first appearance. Handed a senior call-up to the Spanish national side earlier this month, his goal against Ukraine saw him become the country's youngest ever scorer, shattering a 95-year record in the process. His age, though, has reportedly denied him the chance to be recognised as Barca's man-of-the-match for his heroics against Villarreal. According to a tweet from website Get Spanish Football News, teammate Jordi Alba was named MOTM instead, due to the award being sponsored by beer company, Budweiser. https://twitter.com/GSpanishFN/status/1310330038684995593?s=20 Spain's laws prevent those below the age of 18 from buying and consuming alcohol. Presumably, an outstanding performance from a 17-year-old threw up a rare problem for the sponsors, who were forced to name an alternative.