Lamine Yamal made the Alaves defense admire him when he showed all his genius qualities in just 14 seconds.
That was the situation in the 4th minute, Yamal got the ball from his own half, he turned around and passed 2 players from Alaves. The 17-year-old striker turned sideways into the kick-off circle and continued to pass 2 other players.
Yamal then flanked an Alaves player, drifted to the right and fired a trivela pass to Raphinha, who was waiting in the left corner of the penalty area. Unfortunately, the Brazilian striker’s powerful shot went wide of the post. Had Raphinha scored, Yamal’s assist would have been the most spectacular of the season.
Barca finished the match with a goal from Robert Lewandowski and all three points. After Real Madrid's shock defeat to Espanyol earlier, the Blaugrana have now narrowed the gap. They are three points behind Atletico Madrid and four behind Real Madrid with 22 games played. If this weekend's Madrid Derby ends in a draw, Barca will be the winners.
Back to Lamine Yamal's masterful performance. After 14 seconds of displaying all his technical qualities, he received enthusiastic cheers from the 49,000 fans at the Olimpic Lluis Companys home stadium. That classy performance made many people forget that Yamal is only 17 years old. It will be a long time before this young talent of La Masia can reach the level of the legendary Lionel Messi, but it is from moments like this that the confidence to create miracles is multiplied.
"Honestly, Lamine Yamal is one of the best players in the world right now," Alaves defender Manu Sanchez told Mundo Deportivo before the match. This proves that even without that super dribble, in the eyes of his senior colleagues, Yamal is already outstanding.
As for teammates like goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, Lamine Yamal is something very special, a talent that does not often appear among millions of players in the world.
"For me, Kenan Yildiz (Juventus) and Lamine Yamal (Barcelona) are the two brightest talents in football today. Yildiz is better physically, but technically, Yamal's ability is fantastic and very impressive. It's hard to compare because both are very good, and both will do extraordinary things."
According to Opta, Lamine Yamal made 20 dribbles with 11 successful attempts against Alaves. This is the best achievement of a Barcelona player since the 2006-2007 season. The previous record holder was Lionel Messi in the match against Mallorca. At that time, El Pulga made 20 dribbles and succeeded 10 times.
The only thing to worry about now for Lamine Yamal is what Barcelona's plan for developing this young star's talent will be next year? What is the best way for Yamal to develop in the right direction? What position will Yamal play in the future, what will his duties be in the squad? All of these questions cannot be answered by the coaching staff, or even the leadership of Camp Nou. For Hansi Flick, the current strategy is to let Yamal rest in unnecessary matches or come on from the bench to protect his health and avoid injuries.
Not only to avoid injuries and physical exhaustion, Flick also wants Yamal to be less exposed to the media. For a young player at the age of 17, his mentality will be negatively affected if he plays badly in 1-2 matches and is miserably criticized by the media. Yamal is very good but cannot be confident that he will not have a time when his form is down. Therefore, Flick's approach is considered very reasonable.
The German strategist himself does not want to compare his student with anyone because it is meaningless even though the name being compared to Yamal can reach the level of Messi or Maradona.
"I don't like these kinds of comparisons. Lamine Yamal is a genius, I've said this many times. What he showed in this match was unbelievable. I'm very happy that Yamal is a Barca player and I want that performance to be repeated in the coming weeks. I remind everyone that Yamal is only 17 years old" - Flick shared.
