A golden left kick to stay up
Lamine Yamal did it again. When Barcelona needed it most, their 18-year-old gem appeared with a great goal to break the tie at San Mamés and give three vital points to Hansi Flick’s team.
He received the ball from Pedri, opened an angle with a touch and launched a left-footed shot that hit the far post. Pure class.
That goal in the 68th minute (1-0) keeps Barça four points ahead of Real Madrid. Yamal is on a roll: he has just scored his first hat trick in the league and has already scored 19 goals this season, one more than in the entire last campaign.
The victory comes after elimination in the Cup and with our mind set on the Champions League. Flick rotated: Pedri, Raphinha and Fermín started on the bench. Joan García, between the sticks, was key to keeping the score at zero until the magic moment arrived.
The duel of finalists and a bittersweet debut
Meanwhile, in Madrid, there was a preview of the Cup final. Atlético beat Real Sociedad 3-2 with a double from Nico González. A match with the flavor of a prologue to the great meeting in Seville.
In Pamplona, the story was different for Martín Demichelis. The Argentine coach debuted in charge of Mallorca with a bittersweet point: 2-2 against Osasuna.
Vedat Muriqi, a goal scoring machine (he already has 18), made it 0-2 with a double. But everything fell apart in the final minutes. Kike Barja scored one goal and Ante Budimir tied the score almost at the buzzer. A tough lesson in how to close games.
To round off the day, Joel Roca saved a point for Girona in injury time against Levante (1-1). A date where the leaders did not fail and the newcomers learned that in this league nothing is taken for granted.
