Lamine Yamal is the new breakout star for Barcelona. The 16-year-old got a taste of first-team football when he was given his debut by Xavi earlier this year, but this season has just been different for him. He has consistently featured in Xavi’s starting 11 while also earning his first international cap for Spain, which he capped off with a goal.
His breakout year continued in Barca’s UCL game against Porto on matchday two of the competition. However, the youngster mysteriously left the game in the 71st minute, never returned, and was eventually substituted in the 80th minute. Xavi gave an explanation for this bizarre incident in his post-match interview.
Why did Lamine Yamal leave during the UCL clash vs. Porto?
Barcelona got their second win of this season’s UCL campaign after defeating Porto on matchday two of the competition. Xavi’s men followed up their 5-0 win over Antwerp in their opening UCL game with a narrow 1-0 win in Portugal against Porto, thanks to Ferran Torres’ goal in the last minute of the first half.
The Spanish giants failed to assert their dominance in the game further, but the most bizarre thing happened in the 71st minute when youngster Lamine Yamal, who recently signed a 3-year contract at the club, left the field of play. According to Sport, Yamal took a personal bathroom break, with Xavi hoping to have the youngster back in the game as soon as possible. However, Barcelona spent almost 10 minutes with one player less on the pitch, leading Xavi to make the decision to bring on Marcus Alonso in the 80th minute.
After being handed his first UCL start against Porto, Yamal broke another record by being the youngest player to start a UCL game, surpassing Ansu Fati’s record from 2019. With more game time to come this season, Lamine Yamal could break another Ansu Fati’s record of being the youngest UCL goalscorer, but his ten-minute bathroom break didn’t help his cause against Porto.
Xavi provides explanation of Lamine Yamal’s departure
Lamine Yamal’s sudden disappearance in Barca’s second UCL game against Porto left fans wondering what happened. It took Xavi ten minutes to replace the missing Yamal, and the former Barcelona captain provided an explanation in his post-match interviews.
“Lamine was feeling bad. He had been telling me for a while that he felt bad, that he was unwell. His stomach hurt, so we took advantage of the game, but he couldn’t continue,” Xavi explained.
Can Lamine Yamal break Ansu Fati’s record of being the youngest goalscorer in the UEFA Champions League? Tell us your predictions in the comments.
