Ezequiel Barco looked “very good, very good” in his first start in Saturday’s 2-0 win against the Los Angeles Galaxy, according to manager Gerardo Martino.
Though the 19-year-old Barco neither scored nor assisted on a goal, he was a weapon on offense because of his dribbling and passing, and did enough on defense to rarely give the Galaxy time to build out of the back.
“We see it in training every day,” Martino said. “He’s getting more comfortable. He’s getting to know his teammates. He’s forming a good partnership, a good chemistry with Darlington (Nagbe) and Miguel (Almiron) in midfield.”
Barco started as the second striker alongside Josef Martinez, but he, Nagbe and Almiron interchanged throughout the game whenever pockets of space within the Galaxy’s formation appeared.
“Ezequiel thinks the game really well and he’s improving every day,” Martino said.
Barco missed the season’s first five games because of a quad strain sustained during training the week of the season opener at Houston. He came off the bench two weeks ago in the 2-2 draw with NYCFC at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Though right-footed, Villalba likes to play on the left so that he can cut inside defenders and create shooting angles. He has shown a very good first touch and exceptional dribbling ability in his limited minutes.
Barco may not be as fast with the ball as Almiron, as good in tight spaces as Nagbe or as straight-line fast as Hector Villalba, but he’s a nice combination of the three player’s best skills.
“He’s certainly different than Tito (Hector Villalba),” wingback Julian Gressel said. “Another guy who is very dynamic. Very busy. Similar to Miguel. Likes to get on the ball. Likes to create things.
“If those two (he and Almiron) can get on the same page like they did in L.A. it’s something that’s very, very dangerous that we can provide.”
Atlanta United will host Montreal on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Villalba has returned to training this week after missing the previous two games because of a hamstring strain.
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