The Spanish media were generally harsh on Barcelona after Wednesday evening’s Copa del Rey elimination against Athletic Bilbao. Yet there was one bright spot: Lamine Yamal.
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Barcelona are not in the best period under Xavi. It is far behind in the title race, earlier this month it suffered a painful defeat against rival Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup and now it also misses out on the cup. This caused Xavi to start talking about a possible departure again afterwards.
“As I said before, I will have to leave if I don’t win any trophies, or at least compete for trophies,” Xavi said at the press conference after the game with Bilbao. ‘You are sounding the alarm bells and investigating whether I continue as a coach or not. And if you don’t win, the coach gets thrown out. If we are not competitive enough at the end of the season, then I will leave.’
However, the Spanish media was not purely negative. She liked the role of sixteen-year-old Yamal. He was accurate, but also missed two big chances. “He showed how you can still be the best attacker even while failing badly,” wrote Sports world. ‘Almost all the good impulses towards the enemy goal came from him. Despite his missed opportunities, this is a performance that will be remembered.”
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“His play was bittersweet,” the newspaper continued. ‘He scored a Messi-style goal. For a moment it looked like he was Messi and he shone again.’ Also SPORT compared him to the Argentinian club legend. ‘He scored a great goal, just like Messi did in his best days. He also missed two chances, but a child has the right to fail.’
Frenkie de Jong
The Catalan The Sport sees Yamal undergoing rapid development. ‘He shows a very good mentality and once again showed that he has a great level. He really made the difference.’ The newspaper was also pleased with the role of Frenkie de Jong. ‘He was in the center at many times to promote the game and keep pressure on the ball. He was very good in his passing and was also strong defensively. He created peace in the team.’
Also SPORT was satisfied with the Dutchman. ‘He lost sight of Sancet with Bilbao’s second goal, but otherwise played a good game. He contributed to letting the ball go by dropping between the centre-backs.” Sports world was more critical. ‘At the end he showed himself, but that was a tantrum. He didn’t bring the discipline that Barcelona needed. He would have been more useful if he had prevented Sancet’s goal.’
Stand LaLiga 2023/2024
Spain
1
Girona
21
16
4
1
51-25
+26
52
2
Real Madrid
20
16
3
1
43-13
+30
51
3
Barcelona
20
13
5
2
40-24
+16
44
4
Atletico Madrid
20
13
2
5
40-23
+17
41
5
Athletic de Bilbao
21
12
5
4
38-21
+17
41
* Current until January 23. 2024
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