The Spain international is still only 17 but there's arguably no more feared forward in the game today
Denzel Dumfries was outstanding for Inter in last week's Champions League clash with Barcelona, scoring two goals and creating another in an absorbing 3-3 draw. The Dutchman deserved his Player of the Match award – but he was by no means the star of the show. Lamine Yamal was the name on everyone's lips after another logic-defying display of quality from a 17-year-old that wowed the watching world.
"This guy is incredible," Manchester City striker Erling Haaland wrote on Snapchat. Bukayo Saka, meanwhile, struggled to find the words to describe Yamal: "Honestly, doing what he is doing at his age, what can you say?… He's unreal. It's not normal. No one does that."
And Saka's right: Yamal is unquestionably the finest teenage talent the game has ever seen. Nobody has ever been so good so young. Not Lionel Messi. Not Cristiano Ronaldo. And not even Pele.
Yamal lit up a Euro 2024 semi-final at 16. Now, he's taking the Champions League by storm. Consequently, the question is no longer whether Yamal is the best young player in the world, it's whether he's the best player in the world full stop…
Getty'I don't think I've seen a 45 minutes like that before'
Inter and Italy defender Alessandro Bastoni was asked ahead of last week's game in Catalunya how he and his team-mates intended to stop Yamal. "I don't know," the centre-back admitted to the , "because the last time at the Euros it didn't go so well." That was putting it mildly, of course.
Bastoni and Federico Dimarco had been part of an Italy backline that was incessantly tormented by Yamal and fellow Spain winger Nico Williams in one of the most comprehensive 1-0 defeats in football history.
Last Wednesday was even more trying for the Inter duo, because while their team managed to claim a deserved share of the spoils at Montjuic thanks to Dumfries, they were caused even more problems by Yamal from a defensive perspective, particularly during a stunning first-half performance in which the teenager dragged Barca back into the game with a Messi-like solo strike before hitting the crossbar after leaving more defenders trailing in his wake.
"I don't think I have seen a 45 minutes like that from one individual before in my life," pundit Ally McCoist confessed. "It is unbelievable."
AdvertisementAFP'Talent that comes along every 50 years'
Yamal's influence waned somewhat in the second half, but that was only because Nerazzurri coach Simone Inzaghi felt he was left with no other option but to treble up on the teenager.
"Lamine is the kind of talent that comes along every 50 years and, to see him up close, really impressed me," the Nerazzurri coach told . "He caused us huge problems, as we had to double up the marking every time, but it wasn't enough. We had to put three players on him and, obviously, spaces opened up elsewhere and we were forced to sit deeper."
Despite the closer attention, Yamal still ended up having more touches of the ball (102) than every other player on the pitch bar Barca midfield duo Pedri (107) and Frenkie de Jong (112), while he also completed the most dribbles (six) and whipped over more crosses (10) than Inter's entire team combined (six).
Getty Images Sport'Best player in the world is French'
Marcus Thuram, who opened the scoring at Montjuic with a wonderful back-heel finish, was even asked after the game if Yamal were now the world's best player.
"No," the forward replied in an interview on , "the best player in the world is French, and the second is too! They are Ousmane Dembele and Kylian Mbappe. After the two of them comes Lamine Yamal."
Thuram clearly didn't intend for his response to be taken seriously – it was more an amusing show of patriotism than anything else – but Yamal undoubtedly has a legitimate claim on the title of the world's best player. His importance to Barcelona certainly can't be downplayed, that's for sure.
Hansi Flick's side is packed with world-class talent. Raphinha, who has been involved in more goals than any other player in this season's Champions League (20), is one of the leaders in this year's Ballon d'Or race, while Pedri should also be in the running for the way in which he is bossing games for Barca.
However, the Blaugrana are simply not the same side without Yamal in the starting line-up.
Getty Images SportYamal-dependencia?!
Yamal has missed three Liga games this season through injury and Barca dropped points in each one, losing away to Real Sociedad and at home to Atletico Madrid, while also being held to a 2-2 draw by Celta Vigo.
Furthermore, Barca have only won two of the four matches that Lamal has started on the bench – and even then, they were losing both before they brought him on, including on Saturday at already-relegated Real Valladolid.
As a result, the question has been asked several times already this season if the Blaugrana have become overly reliant on the youngster, in much the same way that '' was so often a topic of debate at Camp Nou during the Argentine's heyday.
Yamal has not yet reached that level of leadership, but the mere fact that it's already a talking point is staggering. After all, against Inter, Yamal became the youngest player ever to score in a Champions League semi-final, at 17 years and 291 days old. Messi, by contrast, had only made one appearance in the competition at the same age.