Vast as the palette might be, for all the emotions that athletes experience in the course of competition, pity isn’t one that tends to stand out. But there was Lamine Yamal in Brussels last November, feeling genuinely sorry for the opponents he had just cooked.
In the 61st minute of a Champions League match, Yamal, the 18-year-old Barcelona winger, took a pass 20 or so yards in front of the goal. In a jag resembling a bit of slapstick comedy, he dribbled around, past and through a half dozen defenders, leaving them flat-footed in the grass, like garden gnomes. When only the goalkeeper remained as the final line of defense, Yamal garnished this run with a final dash of sorcery, using the outside of his left foot to guide the ball with power and precision into the back of the net.
