FC Barcelona will host Leganés this Sunday in Montjuïc (21:00 CEST) in a special match for Lamine Yamal. The '19' was the best player for the azulgrana team against Betis and Borussia Dortmund, but beyond the assists to Ferran Torres in both matches, he has a personal challenge to resolve. Indeed, the player from Mataró has gone four La Liga matches without scoring, his longest streak in the tournament so far.
The winger last 'scored' in the rout against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu (0-4). Since then, he has failed to find the net against Espanyol, Las Palmas, Mallorca, and Betis, although he contributed offensively in three of the four matches. Only against the canaries (where he was a substitute) did the young player remain off the statistics during the 45 minutes he was on the field. Before the Clásico, the 17-year-old forward had scored against Osasuna, Girona (double), and Athletic Club.
Lamine, ready to continue contributing to Barça's attack
Despite his goal drought, Lamine has continued to contribute to the azulgrana attack with three assists in the last three Barça matches. Against Mallorca (1-5), he provided the partial 1-3 in the 74th minute, scored by Raphinha. Against Betis, he did the same in the 82nd minute, setting up Ferran Torres (the partial 1-2), a formula he repeated last Wednesday in Dortmund five minutes before the end, an action that earned three points in Germany.
Yamal is the undisputed leader in assists in LaLiga, with 9 assists in 15 matches. He is followed by Raphinha (6) and Óscar Mingueza (5). The young player missed the matches against Real Sociedad and Celta due to injury, two matches in which Barça could only earn one point. Sunday will be his first encounter with Leganés, as the 'pepineros' played in the Second Division last season.