Two La Liga games, no goals, and a fortnight of noise around a 19-year-old. The Lamine Yamal Barcelona start to 2026/27 has become the talking point nobody at the Spotify Camp Nou actually wants to have — least of all the people who watch him every day.
Because inside the club, there is no debate. According to MARCA, relayed by Barça Universal, nobody in the dressing room or the offices is remotely concerned that the No.10 has yet to open his account. Hansi Flick has been open about the fact that Lamine is not yet at his sharpest. Confidence in him, the club insist, is absolute.
Why nobody is panicking about the Lamine Yamal Barcelona start
The context matters more than the goal column. Lamine came out of a World Cup summer with Spain and had roughly three weeks off before pre-season. He then played the opener at Elche — a 5-0 win — and was visibly annoyed at being substituted, a reaction that has followed him around for two seasons and which the club reads as competitiveness rather than a warning sign.
Against Athletic Club on Thursday he answered the only way he knows how. He started on the right, played the full 90 minutes in a 2-0 win sealed by Raphinha and Fermín López, and was a constant threat without ever getting the finish he wanted.
The numbers say he is already back
As Mundo Deportivo laid out, Lamine finished the night with seven shots, three on target, five chances created, three completed dribbles, six attempted crosses and 45 accurate passes — 85 involvements in all, in a game Barça controlled with 70.2% possession and 22 shots.
What stopped him was a goalkeeper having the night of his life. Unai Simón was named man of the match, produced two outstanding first-half saves to keep the teenager out, and then watched the woodwork do the job for him after the break. We covered that duel in full here: the four saves that denied Barça’s best night yet.
A goalless line in a match report can hide a lot. This one hid a winger who dragged Athletic’s defence apart from both the outside and the inside, and who kept escaping even when Edin Terzic’s side doubled up on him.
Flick explains the 90 minutes
The one genuine question was why a player carrying that much summer mileage was left on for the whole game. Flick, speaking after the match and quoted by Barça Blaugranes, gave a straightforward answer.
“I think it was good for Lamine to play 90 minutes, because in circumstances like these we also continue to improve the physical side. That was the idea today,” the German said. “And of course, you could see at the end that all the players were very tired, but that’s natural. This is football, and we give everything we have.”
In other words: the minutes are the treatment, not the risk.
An unexpected defence from the opposition bench
The most pointed comment of the night came from the away dugout. Terzic, whose team had just spent 90 minutes trying to contain him, was asked about the criticism aimed at Lamine and refused to join in.
“He has three weeks of rest and we expect him to come back and score five goals every week; we have to be more careful with our criticism,” the Athletic coach told reporters.
It is a fair point, and one that lands harder coming from a rival. Barça’s own read is the same: the club are convinced Lamine will shine across 2026/27 and see Thursday as the evidence that the level is already returning. There are, in their words, no alarm bells.
Next up: Rayo Vallecano
Flick’s side are back out on Monday night against Rayo Vallecano, with the Blaugrana having already put together a strong opening week — including the youngest starting XI in the club’s Camp Nou history against Athletic.
Lamine will start. On this evidence, the first goal is a matter of time rather than a matter of concern.
