Reason behind Lamine Yamal anger against Atletico Madrid revealed | OneFootball

On Saturday night, Barcelona took a major step towards the La Liga title, securing a 2-1 victory over Atletico Madrid, and stretching their lead over Real Madrid to seven points. Yet it was notable that Lamine Yamal finished the game looking frustrated, and shrugging off Hansi Flick’s attempts to calm him as he exited the pitch.

Footage also showed Lamine Yamal looking irritated too when Robert Lewandowski shouldered in the winner in the 87th minute. There were a number of suggestions as to what the issue might be, but it appears it was not the racial abuse that he suffered during the game.

Frustration with Jose Ramon de la Fuente

It seems, as first reported by MD, that the root of the issue was Lamine Yamal’s frustration with goalkeeping coach Jose Ramon de la Fuente. The long-time staff member could be seen complaining to Lamine Yamal to move the ball quicker on two occasions late on, when Lamine Yamal lost the ball, and then fired a shot over. As Lamine Yamal storms down the tunnel, he appears to point at de la Fuente as an indication of his frustration.

Further footage from DAZN shows Lamine Yamal saying ‘What do you want me to do?’ on two occasions at the same time as de la Fuente is seen shouting.

Hansi Flick’s take on it

After the game, Flick was asked about Lamine Yamal’s reaction, and admitted that he was unsure of the reason for his irritation.

“I don’t know exactly what happened. There was a lot of emotion. Lamine tried everything to score the goal, not everything was perfect, but he was always trying, always available. We have three days to prepare the next match, and he will be in a better mood than today.”

Jose Ramon de la Fuente – Barcelona goalkeeping coach

De la Fuente is the long-time goalkeeping coach at Barcelona, having arrived in 2012, under Tito Vilanova. Prior to that he had coaching roles at Hercules, Racing Santander and Gimnastic de Tarragona, following a long career in Catalan football as a goalkeeper. De la Fuente also came through La Masia as a youngster.

Last summer it was reported his future could be in jeopardy, if captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen were to leave, given the close links between the two. Flick has often spoken positively of ‘Dela’ in his press conferences, noting how helpful he was in his adaptation.