Sure, it was only Cultural Leonesa, but Martin Ødegaard gave a glimpse of why Real Madrid were so desperate to sign him as a 15-year-old nearly two years ago.
Now 17, the Norwegian has had to wait a long time for his full debut – more than 600 days, to be precise – but he certainly impressed in the Copa Del Rey fixture.
Madrid had beaten the Segunda B team 7-1 away from home, meaning they could play with freedom in the return leg.
Zinedine Zidane named a relatively strong starting XI, but Ødegaard was one of the younger stars given a chance to shine, and boy did he manage just that.
Real Madrid formasıyla ilk defa ilk 11 de sahaya çıkan 1998 doğumlu Norveçli Martin Ødegaard tam not aldı 👏🏼… pic.twitter.com/DaUS84d8bB
— Sukru Gursoy (@SukruGursoy) December 1, 2016
The Norway international’s confidence is plain to see – not to mention the excellent displays of skill and close-control – and it makes you wonder why Zinedine Zidane didn’t give him the opportunity even sooner.
Madrid won 6-1 on the night, meaning they progressed with a 13-2 aggregate victory, and the other big talking point was a debut goal for Zidane’s son Enzo.
The French Under-19 international took less than 20 minutes to find the net after coming on as a half-time substitute for Isco.
Now it’s just a race to see which of the youngsters is the first to be handed a full debut in La Liga.
Michael Lundy joins Wooly for a wide-ranging discussion that starts with a chat about Ger Loughnane, dodgy transfers and Davy Fitzgerald’s training methods. Subscribe here on iTunes.
