Barcelona officially concluded their pre-season with a 4-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the Joan Gamper Trophy.
One of the many positive takeaways from the victory and the tour, in general, was the emergence of La Masia prospects, as an array of homegrown talents valiantly took centre stage.
The name of Lamine Yamal particularly stood out after the youngster ran riot against Tottenham to seal a late comeback win last night.
Oozing confidence
Barcelona were in deep waters before the substitution of the 16-year-old prodigy. Trailing 2-1 to the English side, it was clear the Catalans lacked a spark up-field.
Just a minute after his inclusion, Barcelona managed to turn their situation around, with Yamal playing a key role in all three of the team’s goals in a span of just 10 minutes.
Speaking to the club’s media (h/t Mundo Deportivo), Yamal touched opened up on his performance last night as well as his form throughout the pre-season.
“Before I went out, the coach told me to go out with confidence and I took the ball and I didn’t stop pushing forward,” the La Masia wonderkid said.
The 16-year-old sensation has already thoroughly impressed playing among the seniors.
Towards the end of last season, Yamal provided several glimpses of his unlimited potential, and on the pre-season tour held in the USA, he made an immediate impact versus AC Milan.
When asked what it felt like to be able to feature with the first team, Yamal gave a modest reply: “I’m very excited because, in the end, these were my idols since I was little.”
Moving forward, expectations will continue to mount on the prodigious talent, but he aims to take things one step at a time.
Speaking about what he expects about his participation and what Xavi informed him, he said: “At the moment I’m playing minutes of the opportunities that the coach gives me, and then I’ll take it from there. He told me to go out as I always do, to play with confidence, and from then on we’ll go from there.”
