At a glance
- FC Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick vowed to “always protect” star player Lamine Yamal.
- The youngster received criticism for clips of him failing to celebrate Robert Lewandowski’s late winner against Atletico Madrid at the weekend.
- Reports claimed the Lamine Yamal received racial abuse and disagreed with one of the staff over instructions.
Barcelona manager Hansi Flick promised to “always protect” teenager Lamine Yamal ahead of them facing Atletico Madrid in the Champions League quarterfinals.
The number 10 is under-fire for not celebrating Robert Lewandowski’s late winner against the same opposition on Saturday.
But the youngster received racial abuse in the Metropolitano, as video footage on social media shows. At Mundo Deportivo, it was also reported that Lamine Yamal did not appreciate orders being barked at him by a member of goalkeeper coach Jose de la Fuente.
During a prematch press conference to preview the last eight first leg against Atleti, reporters asked Flick about the furore.
Flick once again defended Lamine Yamal
Just like he did on Saturday, Flick once again rushed to the Ballon d’Or runner up’s defence when asked if he’d spoken to him about his strop.
“What we have to understand is that Lamine is 18 years old and he’s an incredible player,” Flick said.
“When you watch the game again, you see that he did incredible things. He’s only 18 years old. He left five players and almost scored.
“He left [the game] frustrated. He’s emotional and that’s good. I will always support him. We have to be careful. Not everything he does is to make noise around him.
“He’s a fantastic player and we have to remember that he’s 18 years old. I told him that he can do it, that I will always protect him. He’s a great player, maybe [he will be] the best in the future,” Flick suggested.
Flick’s stragey is designed to get his best out of the wonderboy
Even if Lamine’s public display of dissatisfaction isn’t the right message to be transmitting, it’ll still work out well in the long run.
Lamine will appreciate being publicly backed by his manager, and players of that calibre need to feel loved in order to deliver.
Indeed, he has every chance of delivering another masterclass as seen in Saturday’s landmark win. But Barca will hope to take a wider margin to the Metropolitano for the second leg a week from now.
This season in the Champions League, Lamine has an impressive tally of nine goal contributions in eight outings.
