Three things we learned from Barcelona’s draw at Huesca

Barcelona youngsters have bright futures

Ernesto Valverde opted for some real rotation for this clash which meant first-team debuts for both Moussa Wague and Jean-Clair Todibo, a La Liga debut for Riqui Puig and more game time for Carles Alena.

Malcom and Ousmane Dembele also featured which made for an extremely youthful line-up against La Liga’s bottom side.

The youngsters did not let their manager down either with a decent performance that ended with a clean sheet and a point away from home.

Todibo looked extremely calm and assured on his first competitive outing for his new club, Puig continued to show why everyone is so excited about his future and Wague grew into the game nicely.

Indeed Puig looks to have a huge future ahead of him at the Camp Nou if he keeps progressing, while Todibo and Wague showed they have plenty to offer, although there still seems to be some doubt over whether their long-term futures lie at Barcelona.

Boateng is just not good enough for Barcelona

Kevin-Prince Boateng has struggled for game time since joining Barcelona on loan in January and has found it difficult to even break into the squad for most matches.

However, with Luis Suarez suspended Valverde gave him just his second La Liga start for Barca, and he put in the kind of performance that showed exactly why the boss has not wanted to use him this season.

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It was a rare chance to impress for the 32-year-old, but he offered very little indeed and it was a bit disappointing he wasn’t substituted to give Abel Ruiz a chance.

Boateng was brought in very much as back-up and to allow Suarez to rest, but with games running out between now and the end of the season it will be a surprise if manages many more minutes before heading back to Sassuolo.

Barcelona will be fresh for Manchester United

Valverde has been criticised for his lack of rotation this season, but he made wholesale changes for the game against Huesca that should leave his team fresh for their Champions League second leg against Manchester United.

Suarez and Gerard Pique were suspended for the trip, while Ivan Rakitic and Sergi Roberto were ruled out through illness and injury.

However, Valverde also left Messi and Sergio Busquets out of the squad entirely.

Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images

Clement Lenglet and Nelson did not play any part against Huesca, while Jordi Alba, Arthur and Philippe Coutinho were only second-half substitutes.

Valverde was also able to hand Samuel Umtiti and Ousmane Dembele starts as the French duo try to find some form after injury lay-offs.

The only thing that was really missing from Saturday’s match was a winning goal for Barcelona.

However, the performances of the youngsters and the rest granted to the first-teamers at an important part of the season meant there were plenty of positives to take from the day’s action.