Barcelona starlet Lamine Yamal was not at his best fitness wise in the club’s showdown with Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night.
That’s according to Gerard Romero of Jijantes (as cited by Diario Sport), who has today provided an insight into this week’s developments behind the scenes in Catalunya’s capital.
Lamine, for his part, is of course fresh off his latest high-profile start, yesterday evening.
In the first leg of Barcelona’s Champions League quarter-final tie with Paris Saint-Germain, the winger, still just 16, was thrown in from the off on the right flank.
And though Lamine did not quite look at his scintillating best, the Spanish international did play an important part in the Blaugrana’s eventual victory.
It therefore came as something of a surprise when, with Barca trailing by two goals to one during the 2nd-half, Lamine was hooked from proceedings by boss Xavi.
As alluded to above, though, 24 hours on, an insight into the likely reasoning behind as much has been forthcoming online.
As per Jijantes, the explosive attacker was suffering from a stomach bug in the days leading up to Wednesday’s clash.
His fitness is therefore likely to have been at least to some extent compromised, a testament to Lamine’s commitment to the Barcelona cause.
Conor Laird | GSFN
