Egypt's Hamza Abdelkarim made his UEFA Youth League debut on Tuesday, starting for Barcelona's Under-19 side against Aston Villa in a thrilling 3-3 draw in the fourth round of the league phase.
Coach Pol Planas handed the Egyptian forward a place in the starting line-up of the Catalan side. He played 45 minutes before making way at the start of the second half, with the technical staff sending on his teammate Guisto in his place.
Barcelona's youngsters dominated the early stages and raced into a two-goal lead. Ibrima Tunkara opened the scoring in the ninth minute, then turned provider to set up Jony Hernández for the second in the 23rd minute.
The English side refused to buckle. Theodor Carroll pulled one back in the 37th minute, and the same player levelled things up in the second minute of first-half stoppage time. The opening 45 ended 2-2, just as Abdelkarim left the pitch.
The excitement rolled on after the break. Marcae Miadi put Aston Villa ahead for the first time in the match in the 81st minute, and the visitors came within touching distance of all three points. Then Eu Martínez struck, rescuing Barcelona from defeat with an equaliser in the 90th minute.
That result lifted Barcelona's youngsters to five points after four rounds of the UEFA Youth League league phase. The Catalan side remain in the hunt for a top finish and a route past the play-off qualifier for the round of 16.
Abdelkarim is also part of the Barcelona first-team squad, which prepares to face Aston Villa in a few hours in the fourth round of the UEFA Champions League league phase.