Barcelona manager Hansi Flick could not understand concerns about Lamine Yamal’s frustrated response towards his late substitution against Levante on Sunday.
In a comfortable 3–0 win, Barcelona had their midfielders to thank for all three goals as Marc Bernal, Frenkie de Jong and substitute Fermín López all fired home to keep up the pressure in the La Liga title race.
It was by no means a disappointing performance from Yamal, but he did not meet the dizzy heights usually expected of him before being withdrawn in the dying embers. The 18-year-old looked visibly unimpressed as he left the field, but Flick had more questions than answers about the situation.
“What kind of reaction?” Flick responded to a reporter. “That he’s angry about his performance or what?
“It’s normal. If he’s happy after ... for me, the most important thing is that we won today.
“Also, we have some players that deserve to play and Roony [Bardghji] did it. Roony trained very well, he’s an absolute professional player. When he came in, it was good to see his reaction. More focus on that.”
Pushed further on the issue, Flick added: “It’s a normal reaction when a player leaves and isn’t happy. But it’s not about one player, it’s about the team. There are other players who also deserve to play. The decision has been made, and that’s it.”
Flick Offers Passionate Defense of Yamal
As Yamal trudged off the field, he covered his mouth to exchange words with teammates and threw his wrist tape on to the ground, clearly unhappy with his exit from the game.
Flick is a known disciplinarian, happy to dish out punishments to any players who fail to reach his professional expectations. Timekeeping appears to be a particular problem in Flick’s eyes, with Jules Koundé falling foul of the rules on a number of occasions.
Clearly, however, he felt Yamal’s actions deserved no extra attention.
“You guys make a big deal out of everything Lamine does,” Flick laughed. “If he’s upset because he was substituted, that’s only human.”
We have seen Barcelona officials publicly defend Yamal’s character on a number of occasions in the past, not least during the storm of controversy generated by his 18th birthday celebrations. There have been obvious attempts to limit his exposure to the spotlight, with Flick’s comments just the latest example.
Yamal will expect to keep his spot in the Barcelona lineup next weekend, when high-flying Villarreal arrive at Camp Nou for a game which could have huge ramifications in the La Liga title race.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Lamine Yamal’s Substitution Anger Draws Puzzled Response From Hansi Flick.
