Barcelona made history during their 2-1 victory over La Liga minnows Leganes yesterday, report the Daily Mail.
The Catalan giants only just scraped through to secure all three points against Leganes. Lionel Messi gave his side the lead at the Camp Nou, but they were soon pegged back by the relegation-battlers and looked to be heading towards a second negative result in the space of a week.
However, Luis Enrique’s side were awarded a controversial penalty in the 89th minute. Messi stepped up, and made no mistake. The victory put Barca just one point behind leaders Real Madrid, though Los Blancos have two games in hand.
As well as securing the narrow victory, Enrique made history with the starting eleven he fielded for yesterday’s game. As the Daily Mail report, it was the first time in Barcelona’s 118-year history that they have had just one Spanish player in their starting side – with Sergio Roberto being the sole Spaniard.
It’s a far cry from Barcelona’s successful sides in seasons gone by. In the 2009 Champions League final, Pep Guardiola named six Spanish starters. Enrique also included four in the 2015 Champions League final. There appears to be a direct correlation between the inclusion of Barca’s Spanish contingent and their success.