No pressure, kid. Lamine Yamal took the stage here and, he hoped, not for the last time. The 18-year-old, wearing glasses, sat in the press conference room at the Metropolitano where he said he would take inspiration from the basketball legend LeBron James and from Neymar on Wednesday night. He insisted that he welcomes the weight of expectation that has been loaded upon him from the beginning as he tries to lead Barcelona back from a 2-0 first-leg defeat against Atlético Madrid and into the semi-finals of the Champions League.
When Barcelona were knocked out by Inter in last season’s semi-finals, Lamine Yamal promised that he would take them back. A year on, scorer of five goals and provider of four assists in Europe, described by Hansi Flick as “the best in the world one on one”, he is their great hope as they seek to return and try again, his appearance in front of the media a prelude to him leading on the pitch. “Ever since I was little I have had the fortune to have to take on more responsibility than I should,” the teenager said. “I am used to it. All I think about is enjoying it, not taking it as a problem but a virtue. I’m grateful for everything.”
