Hamza Abdelkarim explodes in joy after brace for Barcelona vs Birmingham City: ‘Hopefully more of this’

Hamza Abdelkarim explodes in joy after brace for Barcelona vs Birmingham City: ‘Hopefully more of this’

class="wp-block-paragraph">Last night, Barcelona played their first pre-season friendly in England as they took on Birmingham with an academy star-filled team.

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class="wp-block-paragraph">The game eventually fizzled out to a 2-2 draw, before the Blaugrana lost in the subsequent penalty shootout.

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class="wp-block-paragraph">And, while the defensive performance was poor, there were positive takeaways for Hansi Flick.

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class="wp-block-paragraph">One of them was the performance of Hamza Abdelkarim who not only started but scored both of Barcelona’s goals on the night, one of which was a penalty that he himself won.

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class="wp-block-paragraph">At a time when Barcelona are struggling to complete the signing of a new centre-forward, Hamza’s performance hands the administration reason to be optimistic.

Goalscorer speaks

class="wp-block-paragraph">Speaking to the media after the draw against Birmingham, Hamza Abdelkarim expressed his joy at scoring his first goal for the Barcelona first-team which was made sweeter when he converted it into a brace.

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class="wp-block-paragraph">“It’s been amazing, of course. I am very happy and I hope that the team and I can continue to work and improve in each game.”

Hamza scored twice last night. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

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class="wp-block-paragraph">Praising the opposition for the fight they put up and the two goals they scored on the night, the striker said,

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class="wp-block-paragraph">“Birmingham was a tough team, they were physical and it was noticeable on the field.”

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class="wp-block-paragraph">The striker was undoubtedly disappointed with the result and admitted the same, although he admitted that it was just the start and that matters would get better.

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class="wp-block-paragraph">“We improve every game. We are still a young team, so we are getting to know each other better on the field and that is generating confidence in the whole team,” he added.

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class="wp-block-paragraph">Finally, he was asked what he expected from the coming months at Barcelona, to which he stated he wished to keep scoring goals.

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class="wp-block-paragraph">“Hopefully more of this.”

Hamza could have a huge season ahead

class="wp-block-paragraph">As matters stand, Barcelona do not appear to have great options on the centre-forward market. Having lost out on Robert Lewandowski as well, they do not have a natural striker in the side.

Hansi Flick could count heavily on Hamza. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

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class="wp-block-paragraph">The Julian Alvarez dream grows distant with every passing day while Eli Junior Kroupi’s fracture makes his signing impossible. In any sense, Barcelona are stuck without a natural striker at this point.

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class="wp-block-paragraph">Hamza, for long, has been seen as a promising talent, and with no clear candidate at the club for the striker position, he could well be the chosen one once the season begins.

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class="wp-block-paragraph">He will certainly have regular minutes off the bench in the coming season, but strong performances in pre-season could also make a case for him to be a starter under Hansi Flick.

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class="wp-block-paragraph">Source: Mundo Deportivo