Barcelona's Alex Collado turned into Lionel Messi for 10 secs v Girona | OneFootball

Barcelona defeated Girona 3-1 on Saturday evening in their latest pre-season friendly.

The Catalan side dominated most of the first half, with Gerard Pique scoring the game's first goal from the penalty spot in the 21st-minute.

Barcelona were 2-0 up three minutes later courtesy of a strike from Rey Manaj, who netted a hat-trick in the Blaugrana's 4-0 victory over Gimnastic on Wednesday.

Girona did pull a goal back just before half-time through Samuel Saiz's cheeky Panenka penalty, but that was as good as it got for the visitors.

Barcelona made sure of the victory in the 85th-minute and it was summer signing Memphis Depay who grabbed the goal.

The Dutchman stepped up and emphatically converted the game's third spot kick to make it a debut to remember.

All in all, it was a solid day's work from Ronald Koeman's side and Depay's goal was the icing on the cake.

A number of Barcelona's senior stars have still not returned from their summer holidays for pre-season due to their efforts at either Euro 2020 or the Copa America.

That meant a significant number of young players were given a run out against Girona and 22-year-old Alex Collado certainly took his opportunity.

The 22-year-old attacking midfielder entered the fray early in the second half and produced a very impressive cameo.

At one point during his display, Collado turned into Lionel Messi for 10 seconds. The youngster regained possession by the touchline and then went on a mazy run, leaving two opposing players on the turf.

You can check out footage of the incident below and keep your eyes peeled for the magnificent nutmeg...

Collado turns into Messi

Beautiful, absolutely beautiful from Collado.

Amazingly, the former Spain U19 international has only made two appearances for Barcelona's senior team, which seems slightly odd given his record for the club's B team.

In 83 appearances for Barcelona B, Collado has netted 18 goals and contributed 11 assists, a stellar return in our book.

Let's hope Koeman gives him more of a chance in the first-team next season.

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Which city was Lionel Messi born and raised?

Buenos Aires Rosario Mendoza Cordoba

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