Barcelona’s Flick praises Yamal, ‘not a kid,’ as title beckons

BARCELONA, Spain — Barcelona coach Hansi Flick lauded Lamine Yamal’s grown-up performance after the teenager helped his side move to the brink of the LaLiga title by coming from behind to beat Real Madrid 4-3 on Sunday.

Yamal, 17, scored Barça’s second goal, angling a brilliant shot into the corner from just inside the area, as they recovered from conceding two early Kylian Mbappé’s strikes to lead 4-2 at halftime.

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Mbappé completed his hat trick after the break to set up a nervy finish, but Barça held on at the Olympic Stadium to move seven points clear of their Clásico rivals with just three games to play.

“He’s not a kid,” Flick said at a news conference when asked about Yamal taking on so much responsibility at such a young age. “He’s doing good. He has the confidence, the self-confidence, the belief in what he can do. Also, he’s very clever.

“He brought us back [into the match] today with his goal, a very important goal. This, at 17 years old, it’s really high quality. This is what we want from him.”

On another day, Yamal might have ended the game with a handful of assists, too, although some wayward finishing from his teammates — notably Raphinha, who still managed to score twice — meant the teenager had only his goal to show for another brilliant display.

Barça now need just two points to win LaLiga. They could claim the title Thursday, when they travel to local rivals Espanyol, or even Wednesday if Madrid drop points against Mallorca.

“No, it’s football,” Flick added when asked if winning the league was now a foregone conclusion after a fourth Clásico victory this season. “You don’t know what happens, but we’re in a good position. We need [two] more points. This is what we want to make as soon as possible.”

If Barça get over the line in the league, it will complete a domestic treble. Flick’s side has already won the Spanish Supercopa and the Copa del Rey, beating Madrid in both finals.

Barca came up short in the Champions League, losing to Inter 7-6 on aggregate after a two-legged tie packed with twists and turns, but few can deny they have been one of the most fun teams to watch in Europe this season.

“You [the media] can answer this,” the coach said when asked if Barça are the most entertaining team on the continent after their seventh comeback from two goals down this season. “For me, it’s not always fun. Sometimes I really suffer a lot. I am happy what we are doing. Football is a game of mistakes, so hopefully we can make these things better and make less mistakes.”

It is those mistakes that Flick is already working on improving next season. For all Barça’s brilliance in attack — they have scored 95 goals in their 35 league games — they have shown weaknesses on defense, conceding 36.

Mbappé converted a penalty to open the scoring Sunday after a mistake by Pau Cubarsí and then found space behind Barça’s high line to double Madrid’s lead inside 15 minutes.

Eric García got Barça back in the game before Yamal and a Raphinha brace gave them the two-goal halftime cushion.

But Mbappé made a game of it late on, converting after Vinícius Júnior had got in behind, while Víctor Muñoz and Mbappé missed late chances for Madrid to level.

There was also drama at the other end, with Barça appealing for a penalty after Aurélien Tchouaméni handled the ball and having a late fifth goal ruled out for a handball by Fermín López.

“The mentality of my team is unbelievable,” Flick continued. “It’s great to see that they have the power to come back. It’s fantastic, but this journey we started last year, it’s not over.

“We have to improve a lot. Also the defense. Maybe it’s better that we’re more stable. But it’s not to do with the last four. When we make mistakes, Real have fantastic attackers, they transition well and attack the space behind our center backs.

“It’s not easy to defend that when we make mistakes. This is what we have to learn, to defend [better]. But to be honest, every three days a match, it’s not easy to train. It’s all about recovery.

“But for now, celebrate this victory; that’s for next season. I am happy for this club, the fans. For them, I think it’s really fantastic. The atmosphere here is amazing.”