Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has described Lamine Yamal as “the best player in the world” after the teenager produced another outstanding display in the 5-2 win over Real Betis.
Yamal scored his 13th goal for club and country this season with a superb long-range effort, curling the ball into the top corner to give the Liga champions the lead.
His goal came just days after he created a spectacular assist for Anthony Gordon in Barcelona’s 4-1 victory against Galatasaray in the UEFA Champions League.
The 19-year-old is now 10 days away from potentially becoming the youngest men’s player to win the Ballon d’Or. He is expected to compete with Harry Kane for the prestigious award.
Flick was full of praise for Yamal after watching another decisive contribution from the forward.
“When you see the first goal he scored, it’s incredible; right now he is the best player in the world,” said the Barcelona boss.
“I am very happy with his performance, and that is what I want to say. Of course, he has pressure; he is 19 years old and has played every game, but he is 100% focused and committed, and he is very good. His performance has been incredible, and his attitude is how great players are.
“With this result, we had to change him; it was clear, and I told him that I was very proud because he had played a fantastic game.”
The victory was Barcelona’s 11th in a row and preserved their 100% record across all competitions this season. Rodri, Gabriel Jesus, Eric Garcia and Dani Olmo were also on the scoresheet.
Barcelona must now assess several players before Tuesday’s high-profile Champions League meeting with Paris Saint-Germain at Parc des Princes.
Goalscorer Eric Garcia, Gerard Martin and Jules Kounde are all fitness concerns, although Flick said the club would wait for medical updates before deciding on his starting line-up.
“For the moment, the most important thing is to recover,” he explained. “Recovery is very important, and seeing how we manage the minutes on Tuesday.
“We’ll see, we’ll look for 11 players. We don’t know what will happen with Eric. Kounde has small problems, Gerard too. We’ll have to see.
“We have two more days, and we’ll see what happens on Tuesday. We have to wait for the medical results.”
Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona occupy the top two positions in the Champions League table after winning their opening two matches.
The defending European champions have scored 10 goals after beating Slovan Bratislava and Manchester City, while Barcelona have found the net nine times in victories over Feyenoord and Galatasaray.