Lamine Yamal pays tribute to Messi with sublime strike and reaches 50 goals | OneFootball

Lamine Yamal lit up Camp Nou against Rayo with a glorious finish that announced a player restored to joy and rhythm. He also became the youngest across the five leagues to reach 50 goals.

El Periódico Mediterráneo notes that Flick had already said the teenager had rediscovered his smile after injury and the World Cup, and that Barça would give him time to rebuild confidence.

Starting on the wing, he rode the team’s early ebb and flow as Barça found their game. Raphinha, deployed as the new number nine, struck first in a role that has clearly suited him.

Then, on 21 minutes, Lamine burst in behind and arced a lofted, angled shot into the net. He slid across the turf as if levitating, then kissed the badge and pointed to the stands.

On the bench, centre-back Rodri looked utterly stunned, a reaction swiftly turned into a fresh meme capturing what it feels like to watch Lamine Yamal.

On the day Leo Messi announced he was retiring from Argentina duty, his heir paid homage with a left-foot strike only the chosen can picture. The weight of that lineage sits with Lamine, who can still follow Leo’s path.

With this goal he surpassed Haaland and Mbappe to that 50-goal mark. It feels distant now, but on 29 April 2023 he debuted for Barça at 15 years, 9 months and 16 days, and at 19 his brilliance already feels routine.

Source: El Periódico Mediterráneo

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”