In numbers: Lamine Yamal channelizes his inner Neymar against Real Sociedad – Report | OneFootball

It has been a while since FC Barcelona fans have witnessed Lamine Yamal in full flow. The recurrent pubalgia issue has largely hampered his ability to look untethered on the pitch, and despite moments of brilliance, he has not been blistering on many occasions this season.

However, the Spaniard’s performance against Real Sociedad was the first time since the Inter Milan games in the Champions League that we saw Lamine play like a possessed winger. It was a shame that this display did not come in a winning effort.

As per stats revealed by SPORT, Lamine seemed to have channelled his inner Neymar on the night, putting up numbers not seen since the Brazilian’s similar exploits for Barcelona and PSG during his prime years.

Lamine completed 11 dribbles (yes, you read that right) and created 7 chances against Real Sociedad, a record not seen in the top five leagues since Neymar achieved the same against Guingamp in 2017. Those are frightening numbers.

Sociedad’s left-back, Sergio Gomez, could not get a grip on what Lamine intended to do and, even if he did, there was simply no stopping him on the night. Every single move he made was intended to disrupt Sociedad’s defence.

Lamine, despite not being at his physical best, has already racked up 10 goals and 12 assists in 25 matches across all competitions so far this season. It is quite ridiculous that he is facing this much scrutiny despite these numbers.

Perhaps the truth is that, if you are Neymar or Lamine Yamal, you are held to a much higher yardstick than others. The Spaniard is showing no signs of slowing down, and long may these performances continue.