Five to watch from the UEFA Youth League
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
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With the 2015/16 UEFA Youth League finals a real talent showcase, UEFA.com picks a handful of players to have caught the eye, including an all-time record scorer and two multiple winners.
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Tammy Abraham, Chelsea
Abraham excelled in Chelsea's semi-final success against Anderlecht, setting up the opener for Kasey Palmer and rounding off the scoring with one of his five shots over the 90 minutes. While he saw less of the ball in dangerous areas against Paris, the tall, imposing forward was a focal point for Adi Viveash's side and finishes the 2015/16 UEFA Youth League with an impressive eight goals, one shy of the season's top marksman Roberto Nuñez of Atlético Madrid.
- Watch highlights of the UEFA Youth League final
- Chelsea revel in second successive triumph
- Paris regret missed second-half chances
Samy Bourard, Anderlecht
The attack-minded 20-year-old played eight times in the 2015/16 UEFA Youth League to take his total appearance tally to a record 23, spanning all three seasons of this competition. Though his solitary outing at these finals ended in disappointment for Les Mauves, he made his presence felt with some powerful box-to-box midfield running. It was not enough, though, to stave off a second successive semi-final defeat for the player who committed the most fouls overall in this campaign.
Jake Clarke-Salter, Chelsea
Captain earlier in the 2015/16 competition in the absence of Charlie Colkett, centre-back Clarke-Salter gave two commanding performances for the back-to-back winners at the Colovray Sports Centre. Assured in possession, he often put his body on the line for the cause, never more so than in the closing stages of Chelsea's victory over Paris. He will hope for more first-team experience in the final weeks of term, having made his senior bow at Aston Villa on 2 April.
Borja Mayoral, Real Madrid
Both intelligent and clinical, Borja was the Merengues' attacking pivot in the last-four loss to Paris – and typically got on the scoresheet with a 33rd-minute spot kick. Converted under the watchful eye of that arch-penalty box predator Emilio Butragueño, it was the 19-year-old's eighth goal of this campaign, and his record-equalling 15th in the competition (putting him level with Nuñez). Not for nothing has he played five Liga games already for Madrid's first team.
Yakou Meïté, Paris Saint-Germain
The muscular Meïté personified Paris's second-half revival in the final, his formidable run and shot drawing them level, albeit briefly, against Chelsea. He had travelled to Nyon the week after his Ligue 1 debut as a substitute against Guingamp and he looked a redoubtable figure in the Parisian midfield – seemingly bursting past opponents at will and letting fly with fearsome force. On Monday the 20-year-old matched record-holder Bourard's 23 UEFA Youth League outings.