Magical Night of Lamine Yamal! MVP, stunning goal, and new record against Atalanta

When the chips were down for FC Barcelona, the fans found their salvation in the 'messiah' wearing the '19' on his back. Atalanta stepped onto the pitch at Montjuïc with the intention of ruining the night for the blaugranas, and in the midst of this 'wild' context for the locals, Lamine Yamal donned the hero's cape and emerged as the beacon guiding the team through turbulent waters.

The brutal pressure from 'La Dea' was not enough to counter the Catalan winger, who created the most dangerous chances for Hansi Flick's side in a first half where they suffered more than expected. In a Barça that was sluggish, a consequence of the visitors' defensive plan, the star from Mataró stepped up and led the blaugrana offense. In fact, he was alongside Frenkie de Jong as the player who touched the ball the most times (62).

Gian Piero Gasperini did not account for the quality and, above all, the immeasurable talent of Lamine when designing his game plan. The academy graduate dominated his rivals, and after sending a warning in the first half with a couple of shots that went just wide of the posts, he punished the Italians upon returning from the locker room.

MVP and new record for Lamine Yamal

In a lethal counterattack, Robert Lewandowski received the ball in his own half and passed it to the wing, where Raphinha appeared to send a spectacular assist to Yamal. The '19', like a true whirlwind, dribbled past the goalkeeper and won the race against Kolasinac to celebrate the first goal of the night, his second this season in the Champions League, giving his team a temporary lead.

With this goal, Lamine became the second player under 18 years old (17 years and 200 days) to score two goals in the Champions League. The first was Ansu Fati, who scored his second goal in the continental competition at 17 years and 355 days against Ferencváros on October 20, 2020.

Despite the fact that, in the end, Atalanta would manage to scrape a draw, Yamal was chosen as the MVP of the match thanks to his brilliant performance in front of his fans. Once again, the forward was the star of a magical night in the Champions League and proved once more why he is the best player in the world. Now, the focus is on the Round of 16.