Earlier today, FIFA announced the list of nominees for the Puskás Award and the Marta Award, which recognise the best goals of the season in men's and women's football, respectively. And, the governing body has included Barcelona superstar Lamine Yamal's extraordinary goal against Espanyol in the last Catalan derby at Cornellà-El Prat among the 11 best of the past season.
Following the match against Celta Vigo, Barcelona's medical department contacted the Federation's doctors on Sunday night, informing them that an external medical specialist would be visiting Yamal the following day to evaluate his condition more thoroughly. At that stage, the club was unaware that Dr. Schilders, a Belgian specialist, would recommend a radiofrequency treatment that would require a few days of rest.
Lamine Yamal is one of the best players in the world right now; we need to limit his threat defensively and as a unit, but Barcelona doesn't rely on him alone - they've got Ferran, Lewandowski, Fermín, and Olmo, and their attack is phenomenal," he said.
As such, he has played nine consecutive matches, completing the full 90 minutes in eight of them, and did not take part in group training on Friday. The accumulation of minutes is beginning to take its toll, and Flick may decide it's finally time to give the 25-year-old a breather. Another factor behind Kounde's recent dip in sharpness is Lamine Yamal's fitness issues.
The team travelled straight to Barcelona after the game in Bruges, arriving in the early morning. Just hours later, Hansi Flick and the squad were in for a post-match recovery session, which featured the substitutes at the Jan Breydel stadium plus Andreas Christensen, who is now fully back in training. First team player Eric Garcia has a broken nose. He will wear a protective mask and any potential involvement in the upcoming game against Celta de Vigo will be assessed.
Having Ronald Araujo at the heart of Barcelona's defence when the opposition have players with pace to burn is, frankly, suicidal. The Uruguayan once appeared destined to be a real mainstay for this team, however, he remains a senior player that can't even get the basics right. Club captain he may be, but that also means he has to lead by example.
Spanish giants Barcelona needed to come from behind three times to earn a 3-3 draw at Club Brugge in the Champions League, with teenage winger Lamine Yamal back to his best for Hansi Flick's side to help them earn a point in a gripping clash in Belgium. Barca's defence was shredded on multiple occasions on Wednesday by the hosts as Brugge winger Carlos Forbs struck twice and set one up for Nicolo Tresoldi.
Lamine is a genius. I am totally behind him, by his side, supporting him. He is a fantastic lad and a brilliant player. We at Barça are very fortunate to have produced this type of player throughout our history.
We are capable of doing it, in the last few games we have given a very good image and we are good in the league. We play with high pressure and we are going to go as far as we can. I'm sure we're going to see a good game, we have very good weapons in the attacking line to hurt Barça,
There will be plenty of focus as usual on his selection and particularly whether he decides to call up Lamine Yamal who is still suffering some discomfort caused by pubalgia. Barcelona "would prefer" it if Spain did not call up Yamal this summer as they want him to continue to follow a recovery plan they have put in place, according to El Desmarque.
In an interaction with Movistar+, Iniesta talked about Yamal's rollercoaster of a season so far, with the midfield legend notably praising the winger. "It's a life journey. He's only 18 years old, and he has to keep developing, learning, making mistakes, and from there he will continue to grow," he said. Iniesta went on to explain how Yamal is getting criticism for the smallest of things only because he is in the spotlight for his brilliance.
I was in the youth team when I was 12. It was a tough time, the first time I had left home, but Barcelona is a great city, Barça is a huge club, and they treated my family very well. I remember it as a difficult time because being separated from your family at such a young age is never easy, but it made me improve and grow, both as a soccer player and as a person.