The Catalan warriors of FC Barcelona made their mark at the Estadio De La Ceramica in a rollercoaster of a game against Villarreal that ultimately saw La Blaugrana emerge as victors following an enthralling 4-3 victory over the Yellow Submarine at their own home.
A large credit of that game goes to the players on the offensive and to those brought on later to provide additional firepower to the attack. Villarreal’s own resilience and dedication to their attack-building left them vulnerable at the back from time to time, a trait not too uncommonly associated with Barcelona themselves.
Goals from Gavi, Frenkie De Jong, Ferran Torres, and Robert Lewandowski may have sealed the game for Barcelona, but at least two of those goals could be said to have been massive contributions of one 16-year-old Lamine Yamal, who just so happens to have started his second game in a row for the Barcelona first team.
The player thoroughly impressed throughout the game and even once he got subbed off around the 76th minute, he came off to an ovation from the opposition fans at the Ceramica.
As highlighted by SPORT, talking to Movistar La Liga after the game, Xavi was questioned regarding Yamal as well as various other topics. The coach highlighted his decision-making as his primary quality rather than his technical prowess or skillset in general, as well as referring to him as a differential player:
“He’s a distinctive player, smart, his decision-making is nearly always right and good. It’s his best trait. At 16 years old, he’s not starting just for the sake of it.”
The coach also addressed the fact that despite his tender age, the Barcelona prodigy is not the kind of individual to let all the praise and hype around him deter him from his objective and projection:
“He won’t have problems handling what comes his way. He’s a happy, humble guy who loves football. He does have competition, of course. I see him very prepared to play for the team.”
Xavi also was questioned regarding Yamal’s future with his National team, as even though the player has represented Spain up until now, he also has the possibility of representing Morocco to which Xavi made his personal opinion quite clear:
“I’d like him to be with Spain. It’s a personal decision. He hasn’t told me anything about what he’s going to do, honestly”
The manager ended that particular statement of his by showering arguably the highest caliber of praise a Barcelona legend could bestow upon a young upcoming star:
“He (Yamal) is a player to mark an era (at FC Barcelona).”
