The 19-year-old graduate marked a dream debut by getting out of the bench to save a point for Diego Simeone’s side. Hailed as the “new Niño”, 19-year-old academic Borja Garcés marked a dream debut by getting out of the bench to save a draw for Atlético Madrid against Eibar. But the attacker refuses to be worn by Fernando Torre’s comparisons.

With 87 minutes on the clock at Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday Diego Simeone stared into the abyss. Antoine Griezmann, Saúl, Diego Godin and Diego Costa: everyone had shot at Eibar goals – eight times in total – but goalkeeper Marko Dmitrović played a blinder. With three minutes left to play, Sergi Enrich goes on to exploit Godin’s mistake in the box and radiated home what looked like the winner of Eibar. Four matches played, one victory, one draw, and two defeats – not what was expected from the most expensive athletic group ever collected.

Then something remarkable happened. At the last minute of stopping time, Ángel Correa cross broke into a thin, unknown body in a red and white shirt with number 32 on the back. Check, look up and pull – into the back of the net to save the draw with the last kick in the game. Borja Garcés drove away, arms in the air. Borja, who? The 19-year-old Academy Player made his league debut with the first team and has already ensured that fans will remember his name. So also, Simeone will.

Just last week Garcés played in the third division against Unionistas FC on a plot that holds 4,000 people. More than ten times as many saw him, Atleti saved on Wanda. He had only made it on the bench against Eibar because of backup striker Nikola Kalinić, who was signed for € 15m. From AC Milan, is injured. Fans bowed as Simeone pulled midfielder Rodrigo forward for 70 minutes, a very unusual reaction to their holy coach.

They were not booing, the final whistle comes. “Borja came about because the coach knows he’s a natural goal scorer and it’s holy in football,” Simeone shone after the game. The calmer that the teenager scored in an unknown ultra-high pressure session on Saturday suggests that the manager’s assessment is on the money.