Lamine Yamal's sacrifice at Barcelona

That Lamine Yamal is one of the best players in the world is beyond doubt. It is an overwhelming reality, and the diminutive Barcelona winger confirms it in almost every game. But there was one aspect of soccer in which, according to Hansi Flick, he needed to improve: the containment of the opponent's play. His approach was almost exclusively about verticality and offensive movements and actions and he sacrificed little in preventing the opponent's ball circulation. But he has improved, and in a big way.

The 18-year-old international winger showed some deficiencies when it came to forcing the opponent, through pressure, to make mistakes. He found it difficult to sacrifice himself in defensive tasks and focused on offensive and vertical play. Hansi Flick has reproached him on more than one occasion, although not only him. The German coach has often lamented that the attacking players did not try hard enough to try and insist on quick and coordinated actions to recover the ball, except for Raphinha, which is why the team missed the Brazilian so much during his injury absence.

"In order to take it to the next level, one or two steps further, you have to work hard, talent is not enough. It's not just about playing with the ball, it's also about defending. That's what we need from Lamine and from all the players," said Flick at the end of September, on the eve of the Champions League match against PSG, although it is a recurring speech from the former Bayern Munich coach. "It's not just about the four defenders. It's about the midfielders and the forwards... who are the ones who start the pressure. That's what I need from every player on the pitch: to press," he said, a few days ago and somewhat annoyed, after the defeat against Chelsea.

But Lamine has got his act together quickly. Against Atletico Madrid, in the match played last Tuesday and corresponding to matchday 19 of LaLiga, he was the player who recovered possession the most: a total of nine times in the 87 minutes he was on the pitch. He even surpassed Pedri in this statistic, who managed eight. The rest of the attacking players who started were far behind him: Raphinha and Lewandowski tied with three. The attacker put on his overalls for the collective good and frustrated Simeone's men from building their game and getting organized: he deployed a containment game that caught the attention, and provoked applause, from the coaches.

Lamine, leader in records

But all that sacrifice to force the opponent's mistakes has not prevented the Barcelona star from continuing to shine in his offensive duties. Lamine has seven goals and nine assists in the 18 games, between LaLiga and the Champions League, in which he has played. He is, in fact, the player who has given the most final passes in the domestic league and in the five major European leagues. Likewise, the international winger leads the dribbling table. In the Spanish competition he has 60 (nine against Atletico), and there is no other player who has dribbled more in these months of 2025-26. The Rocafonda-born player is already a complete footballer.