Tag: Alight

FC Barcelona wonderkid Lamine Yamal set the Internet alight with a genius dribble that came in the first half of his team’s La Liga clash with Alaves on Sunday.

Barca went into the vital fixture with crosstown rivals Espanyol having done them a huge favour by beating Real Madrid on Saturday night.

In Cornella, relegation-threatened Espanyol topped Carlo Ancelotti’s men 1-0 which gave Barca the chance to cut their advantage to just four points from seven by seeing off Alaves.

Barca went down the tunnel drawing 0-0 as the home fans in Montjuic jeered and whistled, but Lamine provided a rare moment of joy early on in the proceedings.

Picking the ball up in his own half, Lamine first retreated to cut inside two Alaves men and left them trailing in his wake.

Then heading towards the halfway line, Lamine continued to cut through a pack of white shirts and then out of nowhere changed direction.

For another good 20 yards, Lamine carried on twisting and turning at will until lifting his head up and laying off a perfect outside of the foot trivela pass to Raphinha.

Unfortunately the Brazilian couldn’t do anything with it and hit a pretty tame shot across goal.

Yet it wasn’t long until X, formerly known as Twitter, was awash with footage of Lamine’s magnificent run.

La Liga and Barca’s official accounts were two that uploaded the footage, which set the internet alight.

Understandably, comparisons to his fellow left footed La Masia graduate Lionel Messi – which have intensified since a photo of the Argentine blessing a baby Lamine went viral in the summer – were 10 a penny if you will.

Surely it can’t be long until Lamine inherits the holy jersey Messi once wore that is currently occupied by fringe player Ansu Fati.

Maybe it’s when Lamine signs a long-term contract as expected when turning 18 on July 13 that a formal changing of the guard can take place.

Like his fellow Spain internationals Pedri and Gavi this week, Lamine should commit until mid-2030 at least while expected to earn something between $7-8 million a season.