Lamine Yamal has been a revelation for Barcelona this season. Despite only being 16 years of age, he has become a crucial member of Xavi Hernandez’s first team squad, and has also started the last seven matches for the club across all competitions.
That has become eight, as he has been named in the starting line-up for Barcelona’s Champions League last 16 first leg clash with Napoli at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium. In doing so, he has become the youngest player to start in a knockout stages match in the competition’s history, as reported by Opta.
16 – Lamine Yamal will tonight become the youngest ever player to appear in a knockout stage game in the UEFA Champions League (16y 223d v Napoli). Phenom. pic.twitter.com/Uzbz3lb4VM
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 21, 2024
Lamine Yamal has broken countless records so far this season, for both Barcelona and Spain. It’s also the second one that he has smashed in the Champions League, as he became the youngster ever starter in the competition against Porto back in October. He will hope to mark this occasion with a decisive contribution, something he has done regularly over the last few weeks.
