Lamine Yamal: 128 days and zero worries

BarcelonaNow the story goes that Lamine Yamal has gone months without scoring in a league match for Barça. The counter is still running because he has not scored a goal since October 26, in that great victory on the Real Madrid field. So what? Reducing footballers to numbers is a possibility, but it is usually the choice of those who do not understand the game. In the same way that football has become filled with superfluous statistics that say absolutely nothing, it is ridiculous to explain Lamine Yamal through the goals he scores or fails to score.

Disguising the dimension of the Barça footballer with the data of the days he has not scored in the League seems rather simplistic, especially if we take into account that his impact on the games is very evident. To leave a mark and condition the duel and the opponent, it is not necessary to score goals or assists, and Lamine Yamal does many. We are talking about a footballer who understands the game in an integral way and to enjoy it, it is necessary to pay close attention to all the actions of the game. It is not very useful to read the data sheet after the duel to see if he has scored or not.

Lamine Yamal conditions the rivals' plan

From the start, the mere presence of Lamine Yamal on the pitch can alter the opposing coach's game plan. He may not dare to press as high as he really would like to or, in any case, he will have to take into account that Barça has a player with an incredible ability to eliminate rivals in one-on-one situations. If the opponent's pressure is high and man-to-man, someone like Lamine Yamal has the ingenuity to break it and force them to run back once he has overcome their marker by dribbling past them. This wears down and can alter the intentions of the other team. If, on the other hand, they have the will to wait for you in a corner, the presence of the Mataronense also represents a threat. Not only because of his talent in one-on-one actions, but also because he has the sensitivity necessary to play in small spaces and to weave partnerships when the rival, precisely, tries to deny you the smallest strand of grass.

Another reaction that Lamine Yamal's game generates in opponents is related to the latent threat he represents. His quality means that the opposing team will have to do more to stop him. A classic defensive manoeuvre to keep an eye on the other team's wing is to mark your full-back and provide cover, either from your winger, a midfielder or the nearest centre-back. Well, in the case of Lamine Yamal we often see that opponents in all these positions move to cage him. When this happens, two effects occur: on the one hand, the opponent sinks into their own half. This means that Barça can better apply high pressure or after losing the ball and, as a result, they will have more options to stifle the other team's counterattack.

Lamine Yamal and the socio-affective advantage

Another result of Lamine Yamal's ability to bring opponents together is that he creates time and space for his teammates. Logically, if three or four players are chasing him, the Barça winger will have two or three free teammates or, at least, in a position to participate with the ball. The question is finding them, but this is a great source of numerical advantages. The most illustrative action, in this sense, is when Lamine Yamal runs around the edge of the area, attracting and sinking opponents and, then, spaces appear on the edge of the box for Dani Olmo or Pedri. It is precisely with these two teammates that he is fed up with generating another type of advantage, the socio-affective one, which is when players with immediate potential participation in a team relate to each other better than their opponents. Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo and Pedri are excellent examples in small spaces.

For all these reasons, and we could go on, it makes no sense to reduce Barça's young talent to the goals he scores. It's clear that he has to do it because forwards and decisive players are also asked to have that direct impact on the scoreboard, but we must not lose sight of his age and, above all, the quality and venom of his left-footed shots. It's just a matter of time before he scores more goals. In the meantime, we can continue to enjoy his football.