The young winger of “Barcelona”, Lamine Yamal, spoke ahead of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final second-leg match, addressing “Atletico” head coach Diego Simeone.
Yamal noted that he feels in excellent form and is eagerly looking forward to the upcoming match. According to him, he is ready to have a real impact on the outcome of the game.
“I feel great, I’m really looking forward to the upcoming match. I hope I can influence the course of the game,” said Yamal.
The young footballer also made a direct appeal to Simeone, saying that he would like to be placed more often in one-on-one situations against defenders. He did not hide that he is waiting for opportunities to face defensive players in duels.
“We’ll see whether Simeone does me a favour and leaves me one-on-one with some player — I hope it will be like that,” said Yamal.
Yamal also spoke about the criticism he received at the start of the season. In his view, such moments of pressure help reveal real leaders, and he enjoys playing in such an environment.
“At the beginning of the season, many people heavily criticized my performance, but now we have reached a stage where real heroes start to emerge, and I like that. My expectations for the match are high,” said Yamal.
He also added that he is very optimistic about the match against “Atletico”. “My expectations for the match are high,” Yamal said again, as quoted by Barca Blaugranes.
It should be noted that the first leg between the teams ended with a 2–0 victory for “Atletico”. The return match will take place tonight.
