Barcelona started their LA Liga campaign on Saturday with victory over Mallorca, and as expected, Lamine Yamal was the star of the show. The 18-year-old offered the assist for the opener of Raphinha, before he scored himself in the dying Sintels with a trademark finish in the upper corner.
It was again a special version of Lamine Yamal, and one of the one in awe was Steve McManaman. Speaking with Premier Sports (via Sport), the former Real Madrid player was lyrical about the feeling of Barcelona.
“Fantastic goal in the last minute of Lamine Yamal's game. We talked about him early in the game. We spoke about him last year. He is the poster boy for La Liga this year, and he goes with the last kick of the game. It was absolutely brilliant. His ability to go on the left where he is good, but he can go well.
McManaman also gave words to Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick, because he believes that Lamine Yamal can run the risk of encouraging opposition players, which can lead to possible consequences.
“You just hope that Barcelona keeps him a bit in cotton wool, don't necessarily always use it as games really well because he will sometimes rage the opposition because he is so gifted. But what a player we have in his hands and it is an absolute joy to come here and see him.”
The players of Mallorca were visibly unhappy with Lamine Yamal on different occasions at Son Moix, so perhaps there is some basis for the comments from McManaman. However, it is unlikely that Flick thinking influences.