Lamine Yamal has been simply sensational for FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team over the past year or so, firmly cementing his status as one of the best young footballers across the globe.
Just 17 years old, the teenage sensation won the Kopa Trophy and the Golden Boy Award for 2024 following his heroics with Barça and Spain, with whom he won the UEFA Euro 2024.
The influence and impact that he has on the Blaugrana was clear over the past few weeks as the team struggled for wins in La Liga in his injury-enforced absence.
But as soon as he returned to the starting XI last night against RCD Mallorca, the La Masia wonderkid led his team to an emphatic victory.
Lamine does not score enough goals, claims pundit
Lamine’s performance last night against Mallorca was simply sensational as he not only won a penalty in the second half that allowed Barcelona to make it 2-1 before assisting Raphinha for his second goal with a stunning trivela pass.
Lamine starred for Barcelona vs Mallorca. (Photo by Rafa Babot/Getty Images)
However, former football agent turned pundit, Josep Maria Minguella, was critical of the 17-year-old Barcelona rising star’s goalscoring ability, claiming that the youngster needs to score more frequently.
“Barça play 70% of the games against inferior opponents. Lamine lacks something… he doesn’t have a goal, he doesn’t have the goals he could have,” said Minguella on Beteve (h/t SPORT).
“Raphinha, for example, has more. What Lamine does he does well, but he lacks. Robben, in his position, scored goals all over the place, because he would hook it with his left foot and shoot. An attacker has to score, otherwise he’s missing something.”
Lamine, so far this season, has netted six goals from 18 games across all competitions, although he was guilty of spurning some decent chances during last night’s game against Mallorca.
It must be remembered that Lamine is still only 17 years old and still needs to polish some aspects of his game. With more exposure and experience, the La Masia wonderkid will only get even better.