Topics: Munir El Haddadi, Lionel Messi, Barcelona, Elche, La Liga
Spanish-born 18-year-old Moroccan Munir El Haddadi is poised for a bright future with the Catalan giants after hitting the woodwork, scoring an exquisite goal, and receiving a standing ovation all in his Barcelona debut

For a young, up-and-coming player, scoring in their debut game is something every footballer dreams of, especially when playing for a big club as Barcelona.  

This was something young Blaugrana starlet Munir El Haddadi achieved. In the absence of Brazilian ace Neymar due to injury, El Haddadi was given the thumbs up by coach Luis Enrique, opening his goalscoring account for the Catalan side in his first ever La Liga outing, in front of the thousands of loyal Barcelona fans attending the Camp Nou fixture. 

Netting past Elche goalkeeper Przemyslaw Tyton in the 46th minute with a well taken shot, giving the home side a 2-0 lead, Munir put in an impressive display for the Liga BBVA giants before being substituted off for Pedro Rodriguez in the 67th minute.  

Munir El Haddadi, Lionel Messi, Luis Enrique, Barcelona, Elche CF, La Liga

WATCH Munir El Haddadi score his first ever La Liga goal for Barcelona in his Spanish Primeira Division debut

The Spanish-born Moroccan has enjoyed a meteoric rise from the under-19 side to the senior squad, one that bears in resemblance to that of another La Masia graduate, one of the club's greatest ever youth products, Argentine ace Lionel Messi. This has got many dubbing the 18-year-old "the next Messi". 

This was later echoed by Barcelona's 44-year-old manager, who stated after the final whistle: "Munir is tearing through the levels at a terrifying rate. He gives us options, he scores goals and he's competitive." 

Munir El Haddadi: "The next Lionel Messi"

Despite the Argentine scoring a brace in Sunday's game, Munir overshadowed Messi, becoming the hottest topic of discussion from Barcelona's curtain-raiser. El Haddadi's performance electrified the home fans so much, it earned him a standing ovation when Luis Enrique decided to remove the youngster from the pitch. 

The 18-year-old youngster received a standing ovation from the Camp Nou crowd

The Spanish-born Moroccan attacker is yet another exciting product of Barca's world-renowned La Masia youth academy

Munir though stayed humble after the game, admitting that playing at Camp Nou alongside Lionel Messi is an "honor" itself.

"I'm very happy with my debut, the goal and the team's work," the player expressed while speaking to Canal +. 

"The truth is that it's an honour to score at Camp Nou, play alongside Lionel Messi and all the first team players. 

"Luis Enrique told me to keep doing it this way. I hope to get some minutes, I'll keep working and see what happens." 

El Haddadi burst into the spotlight with this wonder goal for Barcelona in the U19 UCL final vs Benfica, which the Blaugrana won 3-0

Messi though did not disappoint, opening the scoring with his first shot of the game, before adding to his tally in the second half, making it 3-0 as the Albiceleste star became the first player in La Liga history to score 2+ goals in his club's opening game in four consecutive seasons. 

Messi became the first player in La Liga history to score 2+ goals in four consecutive league openers

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