CHENNAI: Zero goals, 2 assists. If one watched zero minutes of FC Barcelona’s Champions League fixture against Galatasaray, they might be fazed by the hype around the 19-year-old Lamine Yamal.
Galatasaray defender Mario Lemina had a similar opinion, jokingly or not, asking reporters, ‘Who is Lamine Yamal?’ Minutes into the encounter, Lemina went toe-to-toe against Lamine, and even pushed at him, almost wanting a response in return.
That’s where every opposition player gets it wrong.
For the first 28 minutes of the clash, Galatasaray did enough to hold off Barcelona's push. A minute later, it seemed like they had earned themselves three points at home against the best team in world football at the moment, and someone had finally figured out a way to stop the teenager.
For 45 minutes, the familiar Lamine magic was missing.
And, for the next 45, there weren’t too many moments without it.
Every touch was a highlight reel; every move seemed to make him grow more and more in confidence. Minutes after the restart, Lamine curled a pass from the outside of his boot, straight into the path of Anthony Gordon, who misjudged the angle. A few minutes later, it was all too familiar: the weighted pass, Fermin Lopez’s run, and the anguish of the Turkish supporters.
The real magic, however, didn’t arrive until the 53rd minute.
Most highlight packages miss it, but it was the moment before the pass that was the real magic. A little fake run past the defence set off alarms for the Galatasaray fans and forced the defender to cover Lamine. Moments later, he switched the angle, driving away from the goal with his weaker foot. Anything beyond a corner kick seemed impossible.
But that only applies to normal people. Not Lamine. Not in this form. The 19-year-old faked a rabona (both with his feet and his hand) before a sublime move to take Eren Elmali out of the game with close control on the edge of the line before toe-poking an assist straight into the path of Gordon for Barcelona’s third goal.
It even left Thierry Henry perplexed, forcing him to ask the teenager about the move.
"I've noticed recently that defenders tend to throw themselves to the ground whenever I reach the byline, which made me think about using a different trick to overcome that defensive approach,” Lamine said, signalling how it was all planned.
“When you see Lamine at our training sessions, some of the stuff he does is just the same as you saw here tonight. It is amazing, and I am so happy to have a player like him in the team,” Barcelona’s manager Hansi Flick praised the youngster.
Moments like this don’t come often to footballers, but somehow for Lamine, it is just another day in the office. Lamine has (almost) achieved it all: La Liga, Euros, World Cup, Copa del Rey, and the Spanish Super Cup, with the exception of the Champions League. He might also end up with the biggest individual prize -- the Ballon D'Or.
Yet his biggest achievements won’t be the trophies; it will be the magic that he leaves on the field that will stay forever lingering in one’s mind.