Lamine Yamal: How was his debut with Barça's '10'?

FC Barcelona had Lamine Yamal wearing the '10' on his back for the first time against Vissel Kobe. The 18-year-old player premiered his jersey in Japan, but he was unable to unleash his usual magic and imbalance on the right despite starting for Hansi Flick's team.

And it is that the full-back Katsuya Nagato, using his experience and physical game, managed to minimize the impact of the Rocafonda player on the right. The 30-year-old defender opted for a man-to-man marking, clashing with Lamine to avoid giving him the spaces that the winger usually takes full advantage of.

Discreet first half for Lamine Yamal against Vissel Kobe

Not in vain, in the 45 minutes he was on the field, Lamine was unable to complete any dribbles and barely won one of seven duels. Of course, the complicity of the referee Takafumi Mikuriya favored the locals, overlooking several clear fouls on the Barça star.

Regarding ball movement, Yamal completed 16 of 19 passes (89%), with one chance created and a couple of recoveries. However, he was not sharp with his shots, taking three stray shots before the break.

Beyond not having his best afternoon, the Mataró native constantly asked for the ball on his wing, being the most dangerous forward of the culé offensive trident in the first 45 minutes. Hansi Flick opted for Fermín López and Raphinha to accompany Ferran Torres in the area.

However, none of them were particularly sharp before the break. Eric García was in charge of opening the scoring in the 33rd minute, while Lamine and Raphinha generated their best opportunities with shots from the edge of the area.

After the break, Flick put Roony Bardghji in his place. Despite not shining in Kobe, Yamal made history by becoming, at 18 years and 14 days old, the youngest footballer to wear the club's '10' jersey in an official first-team match. 

Lamine Yamal hopes to be at his best for the match against Mallorca

Now, Barça and its great star will have a few hours of rest before traveling to South Korea on Tuesday. The culés will face FC Seoul and Daegu FC on Thursday, August 31 and Monday, August 4 to close their Asian tour.

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Two matches where the brand new azulgrana '10' hopes to finish getting in tune in terms of competitive rhythm, setting his sights on the debut in La Liga against Mallorca on August 16.

Physically, Lamine is impeccable, but the two months without playing matches with FC Barcelona have slightly reduced his lethality in attack. The Catalan winger was, by far, the best of the team in the last month of 24/25, with exhibitions in La Liga, Copa and Champions that boosted his candidacy for the 2025 Ballon d'Or.

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