Yamal backs Barça fightback, wants Neymar at Copa: “You pay to watch him” | OneFootball

Lamine Yamal was the player chosen by Barcelona for the pre-match press conference this Monday. On Tuesday, the Catalan club faces Atlético de Madrid in the second leg of the quarterfinals, away from home, and needs to overturn a 2-0 deficit.

Yamal began by answering why he believes in a comeback against Atlético, given that Barcelona will play at the Metropolitano and trail on the scoreboard.

“We are a young team, all huge Barça fans, and I think we have all done well this season. Tomorrow we will give everything we have. We need to be intense, not lose our heads, and not think that a comeback is a miracle. We are starting two goals down, but we have to play the way we know how,” said the forward.

Even at just 18 years old, Lamine Yamal has become one of the main names in Barcelona’s current squad by taking on a leading role. He was then asked whether the responsibility for the comeback rested on him, but he did not give in to the pressure.

“Fortunately, I play for Barcelona and we have a lot of quality. I don’t think everything depends on me, and even if it did, I wouldn’t mind. But I have faith in my team. We have many players who can change the course of the match,” Yamal replied.

Yamal’s idols

Asked about his references for the match, Yamal spoke about the photo of LeBron James that appears on his social media profiles. The image shows the basketball star holding the Larry O’Brien Trophy after the Cleveland Cavaliers came back from a 3-1 series deficit for the first time in NBA history.

“He is one of the examples to follow. I’m going to reflect on how he managed it. We have many leaders in the team. I consider myself one, but I’m not the only one,” he commented.

The Spanish star also spoke about his great idol, Neymar, and said he hopes he will be at the World Cup. The now Santos number 10 was at the heart of one of the biggest Champions League comebacks in the match between Barcelona and PSG, which ended 6-1 and gave the Catalan side a historic qualification.

“I’ve watched him many times. He was part of my childhood, he is my idol, and I will always be grateful for everything he gave to football. You buy a ticket to watch him play. I want to thank him for everything he has done for football,” he said. “I hope he can be at the World Cup,” he added.

  View this photo on Instagram   A post shared by @lamineyamal

Promise to the fans

Although he sounded confident for Tuesday’s match, Yamal showed that he understands the difficulty of a knockout game and made a promise to the supporters: “We promise that if we are eliminated, we will fight until the end, we will give everything for this badge. It will be a ninety-minute match or more, because it is not over yet. A comeback is possible, that is why we are here,” the forward said.

The youngster was questioned by some fans at the start of the season due to pubalgia, but even so, he was the team’s standout player in the first leg. Yamal spoke about being eager for a moment of proving himself in his career.

“I’m really looking forward to it. At the start of the season, my level was questioned because of pubalgia. I wanted this moment to come because this is when the real players step up,” the player concluded.

Barcelona and Atlético de Madrid face each other this Tuesday at 4 p.m. (Brasília time) in Madrid, in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.

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This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.