Lamine Yamal sets a record against a Real Madrid legend

Barcelona"People have expected me to score 100 goals a season since I was 16; I'd like that too, but it's very difficult," Lamine Yamal said just a week ago, after scoring his first goal against Villarreal. hat trick as a Barcelona player in his third season with the first team. The winger from Rocafonda, who made the decisive goal in Barça's victory this Saturday at San Mamés, He's enjoying his best season in this regard: in the 2023-24 season he scored 7 goals in 50 matches; in 2024-25, 18 in 55 matches; and this season he has 19 in 36 matches. These figures make him the top scorer in the entire Barça squad, a statistic that speaks volumes about the Blaugrana star but, at the same time, highlights that the other forwards should improve in this area.

He is followed by Ferran Torres (16), Raphinha (14), Robert Lewandowski (14), Fermín López (11), and Marcus Rashford (10). Lamine Yamal has overtaken the striker from Foios, who led the Barça scoring charts until the match against Villarreal. Unlike the number 10 for Barça, who has scored nine goals in the last eleven matches, Ferran has gone more than a month without scoring: his last goal was against Elche in matchday 22 of La Liga, played on January 31st. Raphinha, who has been struggling with injuries this season, and Lewandowski are unlikely to replicate their prolific form from last season, in which the Brazilian scored 34 goals in 57 matches and the Pole 42 in 52. The Warsaw striker's contract expires at the end of this season, and his performance will determine whether he stays on, a decision Joan Laporta, during his election campaign, has already endorsed.

With his most successful season yet underway, Lamine Yamal is making up for lost time. The scoring slump of the rest of the Barça attack has brought Lamine Yamal to the brink of breaking a new record. With 14 league goals, he has already reached 29 before turning 19, surpassing the 28 scored by Real Madrid legend Raúl González Blanco before the age of 19. That record dates back to the 1995-96 season, 30 years ago. Furthermore, despite not being a center forward, this season the Barça star is the third-highest scorer in La Liga, only behind Mallorca's Vedat Muriqi (18) and Real Madrid icon Kylian Mbappé (23), who is currently injured.

The successful precocity of Lamine Yamal

"What he needs to do is not be complacent and keep doing what he does on the pitch," said Pedri González about Lamine Yamal's stunning goal at San Mamés. The assist came from the Canary Islander, and a run by Fermín López, with a sweeping movement, finished the move. The space provided for Lamine Yamal was also a decisive factor in the play. La Masia talent helped secure the 400th goal for the Mataró native with Barça, if you add up all the goals he has scored since arriving at the Barça youth academy at the age of seven. This statistic was compiled by journalist Jaume Marcet, commentator for Barça's youth teams on the now-defunct Barça TV.

According to the MisterChip database, Lamine Yamal scored 50 goals in professional competitions (44 with Barça and 6 with the Spanish national team) at 18 years and 237 days old. Leo Messi reached 50 goals at 20 years and 315 days old. Cristiano Ronaldo reached that number of goals at 21 years and 297 days old. The Catalan striker debuted at 15, the Argentinian at 16, and the Portuguese at 17. Lamine Yamal has already put his troublesome groin problems behind him – "I had a rough time at the beginning of the season, but now I feel fine," he recently explained – and is enjoying his most prolific season yet.