Marc Bernal celebrated a dream moment as the midfielder stepped up his recovery from an ACL injury by scoring his first Barcelona goal in Saturday’s 3-0 LaLiga win over Mallorca.
Bernal, 18, came off the bench to add the third goal following strikes from Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal as Barça extended their lead at the top of the table to four points ahead of Real Madrid‘s game at Valencia on Sunday.
After tearing his ACL in just his third senior appearance for Barça in 2024, the teenager returned to action at the end of September but has been used sparingly by coach Hansi Flick as he builds up his match fitness.
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“It was very special to score my first goal for Barcelona,” Bernal told reporters.
“I saw the space when Fermín [López] got the ball and ran into it. I was going to shoot with my right foot, but decided to cut back and take it with the left.
“It took a deflection, but never mind, it was an incredible moment. It’s something you can hardly even imagine as a dream when you’re a kid.
“When I scored, I thought a lot about the tough times over the last year. Also about my family.”
Bernal’s minutes have been managed carefully since his return to action, but he has now featured in Barça’s last six matches, although in only one of those games did he play for longer than an hour.
“From the start [of coming back], I knew it would be a process from less to more,” he added. “I am in good shape now. I am getting more and more minutes and taking advantage of them as much as I can.”
Flick was also delighted to see him register his first goal for the club.
“You could see on the bench what it meant, everyone standing up and clapping their hands and celebrating,” the Barça coach said in a news conference.
“For him, it was amazing, scoring his first goal at Camp Nou. He did really well. It is the next step for him to come back on the highest level.”
Bernal sealed the points for Barça after Lewandowski and Yamal had both taken their goal tallies in LaLiga this season to double figures.
Yamal’s goal was particularly good, struck from 30 yards. It was his sixth goal in seven games and his 15th in 30 appearances this season.
However, the final result disguised a poor first half from Barça, with Flick promising they will be much better from the start when they travel to Atlético Madrid on Thursday in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal.
“I was not happy with the first half,” Flick added. “The players were not on our level, not dynamic, the play and passing was too slow.
“But, at the end, three more points, three goals and a clean sheet, so I have to say it’s a good day for us.
“I think against Atlético we will see another team from the first minute. I wanted to see this today, but I played football and I know these things can happen when you have so many matches.”
