Hansi Flick’s Barça is performing at the highest level this season and this has led them to return to the top of the table as sole leaders after the defeat of Real Madrid against Betis and the victory of Hansi Flick’s team against Real Sociedad (4-0) this Sunday at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys. In the last five matchdays they have picked up 15 points to Madrid’s five, which has boosted the Catalans, who will be looking to maintain this momentum in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The comeback in the league standings has come on the back of goals. Specifically, 124 goals in 40 games (average of 3.1). With a long season still to play, FC Barcelona have already scored more goals than in the last five seasons. These goals have been very much a team effort, with 19 players from the Barça squad finding the net, led by Lewandowski, who is enjoying a second wind.
Lamine Yamal surrenders to Flick
In this context of great performance in the league and already focused on the Champions League round of 16, Lamine Yamal has given an interview to UEFA in which the former Barça youth player has surrendered to the management that Hansi Flick is carrying out at the helm of Barça: “He is a very kind person, someone you can talk to. He asks you how you are, he teaches you a lot, I have learned a lot from him”. For this reason, he recognizes that the German is as people see him on a day-to-day basis, “strict but at the same time he knows how to understand what each player needs at any given moment”. “When it comes to defensive concepts he does ask me for certain things, but in the offensive area he doesn’t tell me much, just to enjoy myself and that’s it. That’s the confidence he gives us,” says the winger.
Thinking about the Champions League match against Benfica, Lamine Yamal has acknowledged that it is one of the two competitions in which he feels happiest when scoring a goal. “When the Champions League anthem plays, everyone gets goosebumps. I scored against Monaco and Atalanta, and I had never had that feeling before, only at the European Championship with the goal against France,” explains the youth academy player.
Finally, on the constant comparisons with Leo Messi because of his cheekiness and his precocity in the Barça team, Lamine Yamal acknowledges that he thinks the best thing for him is to think about himself and try to do what is best for him and for the interests of Barça. “I’m not a player who looks at the statistics much, I play to enjoy myself, to make people enjoy themselves and to win,” he concludes.