Barcelona surprised many on Sunday night not only with an improved performance and four goals, but also by starting two 16-year-olds. Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi were named in the line-up by Xavi Hernandez, and far from looking out of place, were amongst Barcelona’s better players.
🚨 Lamine Yamal absolutely destroyed Real Betis' defense yesterday. He slammed two shots on the posts, and gave a great assist, in addition to being unbeatable in the 1v1. @ferrancorreas pic.twitter.com/Cxwb6eeoez
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) January 22, 2024
Lamine Yamal in particular was a nightmare for the Real Betis defence. Starting on the right-hand side, he was crucial creating danger for Barcelona early on. As the second half started, it was his drop of the shoulder, gliding past Abner Vinicius, from which he hit the post – the ball eventually finding Ferran Torres for Barcelona’s second.
https://twitter.com/mxssimedia/status/1749166665776959949?s=20
In the second half, Barcelona sealed the game in stoppage time too, splitting the central defence with a pass for Ferran Torres to run onto and complete his hat-trick. It was just the fifth time he has played the full 90 minutes for Barcelona, and he made it count in an a big way for Xavi Hernandez. Although he lost the ball 14 times, his creative vision was a driving force behind Barcelona’s win on Sunday night.
Lamine Yamal was a headache for Real Betis last night:
1 assist
5/7 dribbles attempted
2x the woodwork
58 touches
21/27 passes
3 key passes
2 big chances created
5 tackles #FCBarcelona pic.twitter.com/PbVNnvkOoq— Football España (@footballespana_) January 22, 2024
