Barcelona fans have likened Pedri to club legend Lionel Messi after his excellent goal against Galatasaray in the Europa League on Thursday. The 2021 Golden Boy award winner produced a well-composed finish to help his team restore parity after Galatasaray opened the scoring through Marcao in the 28th minute.
Pedri's strike came just nine minutes later and reminded fans of how Messi enthralled them in the past. The 19-year-old midfielder received a pass from Ferran Torres before leaving two Galatasaray defenders on the floor inside the penalty area with his clever body feints.
The midfielder then buried his shot past Spanish goalkeeper Inaki Pena in goal for the hosts. As soon as Pedri found the back of the net, several fans on Twitter couldn't help but notice how strikingly similar he was to the Argentine great.
One fan tweeted:
"Those are some despicably Messi-esque feints by Pedri. Madness."
Here are some of the other reactions to Pedri's goal:
Riding on the momentum established by Pedri's opening goal, the visitors have taken the lead against Galatasaray. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang found the back of the net in the 49th minute to edge the Catalans ahead in the Europa League Round of 16 tie.
Xavi's side held on to the lead and eventually progressed to the quarter-finals 2-1 on aggregate.
Barcelona heading in a new direction without Messi
Ever since it was announced last summer that Messi will not continue at Barcelona, a lot has changed for the player and the club. The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner has not enjoyed the best of starts to his PSG career, while the Blaugrana had to drop down to the Europa League.
However, the La Liga giants have shown signs of promise since the appointment of Xavi as head coach. The Spaniard is overseeing a tricky phase at the club, but has given a good account of himself so far. Barcelona have also made shrewd signings in the transfer window, which includes the likes of Aubameyang, Ferran Torres and Adama Traore.
After the ongoing Europa League tie against Galatasaray, Barcelona face arch-rivals Real Madrid on Sunday in La Liga.