Flick Breaks Guardiola's Record as Barcelona Fields Youngest Lineup at Home

Barcelona played their postponed match from the first round of La Liga at Spotify Camp Nou with a starting lineup that included seven players who previously progressed through the club's youth system, alongside Pedri, Juan García, Raphinha, and Anthony Gordon.

According to the Spanish newspaper "Mundo Deportivo", Barcelona fielded the youngest starting lineup in their history at home, with an average age of 23.18 years.

Rafinha, born in 1996, is the only player born in the 20th century, while Juan García, Eric García, and Anthony Gordon were born in 2001, Gerard Martin and Pedri in 2002, and Fermín López in 2003.

Hansi Flick has relied on four players born in 2007: Pau Cubarsi, Marc Bernal, Xavi Espart, and Lamine Yamal.

Barcelona has the youngest squad in La Liga, with an average age of 24.2 years, the same as Levante. Among the top five European leagues, only four teams have younger squads than Barcelona: Auxerre at 23.6 years, Parma at 23.4 years, Toulouse at 22.5 years, and Strasbourg at 22 years.

Barcelona has only five players aged 30 or older: Szczęsny, Cancelo, Livaković, Christensen, and Rodri. In contrast, the squad includes 11 players under the age of 20, among them Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsi, and Marc Bernal.

The previous record for the youngest starting XI for Barcelona at home was held by Pep Guardiola, who fielded five players from the B team against BATE Borisov in the Champions League group stage in December 2011, a match that ended in a 4-0 victory for Barcelona.

However, Flick's lineup against Athletic Bilbao shattered this record, becoming the youngest in Barcelona's history at home with an average age of 23.18 years.