The Barcelona star was in top form again on the European stage against Club Brugge
Lamine Yamal has hit back at reports of his groin injury after helping Barcelona defend three times in a 3-3 draw with Club Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The 18-year-old missed seven matches earlier in the season for both club and country due to pubalgia, with speculation suggesting he may need surgery.
However, Yamal has since started five consecutive matches for Barca and has shown no signs of discomfort in Belgium.
“I’m fine,” Yamal told reporters after the match. “I try not to read things. There was a lot of talk about my injury and how sad I was. It was all lies. I wanted to work hard to get back to that level, that’s where I feel the best and have the most fun.”
Barcelona fell behind three times in an end-to-end match at the Jan Breydel Stadium, equalizing through Ferran Torres, Yamal and a late Christos Tzolis own goal.
Yamal’s goal was the highlight of the evening. The teenager collected the ball outside the box, beat a defender, exchanged a quick one-two with Fermin Lopez and calmly headed home.
Later, his driven cross forced Tzolis to turn the ball into his own net to tie the match at 3-3.
Yamal downplays Messi comparisons
Following his goal, comparisons were once again made between Yamal and Lionel Messi, but the young winger was quick to dismiss them.
“I can’t compare myself to Messi,” he said. “He scored thousands of goals like that. I have to make my own way and hope to score many more goals like that. The movement was very quick and Fermin left the ball to me perfectly, I just controlled it and finished.”
For the second time in recent weeks, Yamal found himself in a hostile atmosphere after being booed by home fans, this time in Bruges, following a similar reaction at the Santiago Bernabeu.
“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they whistle at me and no one else,” he said. “If they whistle at me, it’s because I’m doing my job well on the pitch. That doesn’t worry me.”
