Lamine Yamal has sent out a defiant message in the wake of Barcelona’s defeat to Atletico in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie.
Barcelona are 2-0 down to Diego Simeone’s side ahead of the return fixture in the Spanish capital next week, but Yamal isn’t giving up hope yet.
“This isn’t over, culers We’ll give everything in the second leg. All together, always,” he posted on Instagram.
Yamal caused Atletico problems on Wednesday night and drew plenty of praise from manager Hansi
Flick after the game for his performance.
“Of course, he’s disappointed – everyone was disappointed,” Flick said. “But Lamine played a fantastic game, from the beginning to the end, in the defence and in the offence.
“He had one-v-one situations, he had three, four, five players around him. It’s unbelievable.””I said it yesterday, he’s 18 years old, and, for me, he’s doing a fantastic job. We have to support him. Not make so much noise about things.
“He’s 18 years old, come on! For your country [Spain], he will be one of the best players ever. The referees, they have to protect him. This is why everyone goes to the stadium, everyone wants to see football, from these players. [Kylian] Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Lamine, Pedri.”
Barcelona will need Yamal at his best again next week if they are to prevail, but he’ll also need help from his team-mates – particularly with Raphinha still out injured.
