You marvel what went by the thoughts of Alaves’ left-back, Manu Sanchez, three minutes into the sport in opposition to Barcelona at Montjuic yesterday.
Lamine Yamal, the participant who Sanchez was assigned to mark for the subsequent 87 minutes or so of his life, had dribbled previous him and 4 different team-mates in virtually his first involvement of the match.
Sanchez would have been forgiven for considering he could be in for a protracted afternoon.
In a manner, Alaves could be proud of how they contained Barcelona general. The Catalans received a scrappy 1-0 win at dwelling in opposition to a relegation-battling aspect in a must-win sport, after Actual Madrid misplaced throughout city in opposition to Espanyol the night time earlier than. Hansi Flick’s aspect are actually 4 factors behind their most important rivals on the prime of La Liga, and the 2024-25 title race feels extra alive than ever as we enter February.
A packed fixture checklist on Madrid’s aspect, together with a two-legged Champions League play-off in opposition to Manchester Metropolis on February 11 and 19, may do Barca, who’re straight by to the spherical of 16 in March, a favour too.
However weeks and maybe months will go, and Yamal’s outrageous early solo run will linger within the minds of those that had been current.
It’s nothing new to see followers on the sting of their seats each time Yamal will get the soccer, however the sequence that began at 3:45 on the clock and completed 14 seconds later had many of the 42,900 attending at Montjuic roaring in pleasure, louder and louder as he passed by opponent after opponent.
Lamine Yamal. 🤩 #LALIGAHighlights | @FCBarcelona pic.twitter.com/DNKZSow4Kt
— LALIGA English (@LaLigaEN) February 2, 2025
It’s typically straightforward to neglect that Lamine Yamal remains to be solely 17 years outdated.
Let’s return to the very begin of this extraordinary transfer.
Yamal picked up possession on the right-hand aspect, his consolation zone, however in Barcelona’s half of the pitch. Sanchez was urgent him immediately, however the teenager shifted the ball again within the route it got here, wrongfooting his preliminary opponent instantly.
After he disarmed Sanchez with a shoulder feint and a dribble on his left foot, Alaves’ left-winger Tomas Conechny was there ready to double up on the Spain worldwide prodigy.
The 17-year-old shielded the ball, then burst previous each gamers and lower inside in the direction of a central space.
Sanchez admitted defeat at this level and returned to his left-back function, however Conechny selected to persevere, following Yamal and making an attempt to seize his arm.
Extra backup was wanted.
The attacking midfielder Jon Guridi now made an try to achieve Yamal, however the latter was already working in a distinct gear.
Antonio Blanco, one of many guests’ holding midfielders, tried to step into Yamal however a fast flick of his left foot meant that sort out was ineffective. Yamal stored shifting ahead.
Now Conechny was again for spherical two, this time making an attempt to carry out a cruel sliding sort out. In some a part of his peripheral imaginative and prescient, the Barca winger noticed him coming and rapidly switched his ball to the fitting foot — sending Conechny out for tapas.
These within the Montjuic stands had been loving each second of it, by no means wanting the run to finish.
Guridi and Blanco now tried to take Yamal down once more however failed once more.
Alaves’ different holding midfielder, Ander Guevara, now stood in Yamal’s path and fancied his luck, however with so many gamers now crowded round him, Yamal opted to search out his team-mate Raphinha in loads of area out on the left-hand aspect.
With a trivela go.
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Lamine Yamal’s trademark trivela: Dissecting the Barcelona star’s murals
(Alex Caparros/Getty Pictures)
Raphinha took a shot at objective that went broad, although few within the stadium actually cared. The followers had been nonetheless roaring for Yamal, making the type of comparisons of their heads with previous Barcelona greats that managers understandably are likely to attempt to downplay, for concern of inflaming the hype. However Yamal isn’t any abnormal expertise.
“Lamine is already the most effective gamers on this planet, to be trustworthy,” mentioned Alaves full-back Sanchez in an interview with Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo. And that was earlier than yesterday’s match.
On the same notice, right here is Barcelona’s beginning goalkeeper, Wojciech Szczesny, in an interview with Italian media outlet La Gazzetta Dello Sport final week.
“For me, they’re the 2 largest skills I’ve seen in my life, each (Kenan) Yildiz (at Szczesny’s earlier membership Juventus) and Yamal. They’re very completely different as a result of Lamine, technically, it’s absurd. Yildiz is stronger bodily. He’s already prepared bodily. However technically, Lamine is… it’s so spectacular. So it’s actually exhausting to make a comparability however they’re two extraordinary skills and, in my view, they’ll each do huge issues.”
Yamal’s efficiency on Sunday went past his jaw-dropping run. In keeping with Opta, he tried 20 dribbles and succeeded with 11 of them, and equalled essentially the most by a Barcelona footballer in a single sport for the reason that 2005-06 season not less than.
Guess whose document he matched…
Sure, it was Lionel Messi, in 2006-07 in opposition to Mallorca. He tried 20 dribbles that day, finishing 10 of them.
Yamal was additionally concerned within the objective in opposition to Alaves, which was scored by Robert Lewandowski when he tapped in a volleyed shot by {the teenager}. La Liga didn’t rely it as an help, as Yamal’s try deflected off Alaves defender Nahuel Tenaglia earlier than reaching Lewandowski. By no means thoughts. He nonetheless leads the league for that metric this season with 11 in 19 video games.
His development has been very good since breaking into the Barcelona first group final season, and people across the membership really feel blessed to have such a expertise on their palms.
At the back of their minds, although, there’s a silent debate over the easiest way to deal with Yamal. If, on the age of 17, he’s already so elementary to the membership’s general undertaking, what’s coming subsequent for him? What’s the easiest way to verify his growth stays heading in the right direction, or to make certain that {the teenager}’s thoughts can keep in the fitting place?
Final week, Flick subbed Yamal off within the dying minutes of their remaining league-phase match within the Champions League, in opposition to Atalanta. {The teenager} was visibly annoyed with the substitution, as he was having fun with himself after scoring one objective.
As he made his strategy to the bench, Flick stopped him and had a pleasant chat to attempt to easy issues over. Yamal was then named man of the match, and subsequently had some media duties to undergo. Initially, he was not feeling within the temper to go and communicate to broadcasters however ultimately agreed to after a dialog with the membership’s press officers.
(Pedro Salado/Getty Pictures)
It was described extra as a heat-of-the-moment state of affairs moderately than something with a deeper significance from these within the dressing room, however in a manner displays how Flick needs to guard Yamal from the general public eye and extreme scrutiny throughout press conferences.
Straight after the win yesterday, he was requested about Yamal’s show and whether or not it was paying homage to different membership greats resembling Messi and Diego Maradona.
“I’m not a fan of comparisons and all that,” Flick mentioned. “Lamine is a genius. I’ve already mentioned that previously. What he did at this time in some conditions was unbelievable. I’m so pleased that he’s a Barca participant and I would like him to do that week after week.
“Once more, he’s simply 17.”
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What makes Lamine Yamal such a particular footballer?
(Prime picture: Josep Lago/AFP by way of Getty Pictures)