Lamine Yamal grows sharper and more decisive by the day. He broke into Barcelona's first team at just 15 years and 9 months old. Now 19, he looks like a man who has lived several footballing lifetimes already.
He remains a very young player, yet he has grown used to carrying the Catalan side on his shoulders, always popping up at the sharp end, according to Catalan newspaper "Sport".
Goals tell only half the story. Yamal's impact runs through his decisive passes too, and combine the two into goal contributions and a truly astonishing figure emerges.
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Across his last 13 matches for Barcelona, Yamal either scored, assisted, or did both in 12 of them.
Only the Clásico at the Spotify Camp Nou on 25 October broke the run, when Marc Cucurella proved a stubborn opponent and ended his remarkable streak. Since facing Real Madrid, Lamine has gone back to delivering, and he will hope to do the same against hosts Atlético Madrid next Sunday in La Liga.
Commitment and effectiveness
Commitment shows in the small things. Yamal turns up to train on optional days, as he did last Thursday, and he has sharpened his work without the ball too. The attacking side still sets him apart, and his numbers this season speak for themselves: 13 goals and 11 assists in 15 matches, or 24 goal contributions.
The Spanish star already knows what it feels like to score against Atlético Madrid at the Metropolitano, with both his goals against Los Rojiblancos coming on their own ground.
His first arrived in the 2024-2025 La Liga season, when Yamal set up a superb Barcelona comeback that Ferran Torres completed in a 4-2 win.
The second came last season in the Champions League. Yamal drilled a low left-footed shot into the net to keep Barcelona's hopes alive, though they ultimately bowed out at the hands of Los Rojiblancos.