- Lamine Yamal scored a goal for Barcelona in the second half as they defeated Mallorca
- The 16-year-old prodigy has become an integral part of Xavi’s squad this season
- The great rivalry between Klopp and Guardiola: who will come out on top in their last ever league match? Listen to the It all starts podcast
Barcelona’s boy wonder Lamine Yamal saved them again with the goal that saw them beat Mallorca 1-0 in Montjuic.
The 16-year-old came in from the left after 74 minutes, exchanged passes with Robert Lewandowski and then curled the ball past Predrag Rajkovic.
Xavi celebrated the goal behind glass from high in the stands. He served a one-match touchline ban and had Napoli’s match with Torino on TV while Barça were playing.
It is Napoli who must beat Barcelona on Tuesday evening to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League. On this screen and without so many first team players. They are already missing Frenkie de Jong and Pedri and Raphinha limped off in the first half of this game.
Barcelona should have taken the lead when Raphinha won a penalty after his ankle was clipped by Jose Manuel Copete. While usual penalty taker Robert Lewandowski rested on the bench, it was Ilkay Gundogan who stepped up and his poor penalty was saved by Predrag Rajkovic.
Lamine Yamal fired Barcelona to victory over Mallorca at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys
The 16-year-old has scored four league goals for the club this season and provided six assists
Xavi watched from the stands as his team came within five points of leaders Real Madrid
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Other chances were few and far between, with Mallorca’s five-man defense holding off Barca’s attacking threat. One shot went just wide from Joao Felix, but Mallorca had chances through Manuel Morlanes and Cyle Larin and there were a few whistles from the home fans.
Raphinha never recovered properly from the blow to his ankle that led to the penalty and he was replaced by Fermin Lopez after 37 minutes.
Joao Felix tried to sneak a shot home at the near post after the restart, but there was little improvement in the second half and the whistle did not stop. There were only 38,225 people in the stadium – the sixth worst of the season.
At least Xavi was sheltered from the cheering, in the stands, and he rose from his seat just before the hour mark when Lamine Yamal curled a shot onto the crossbar. That was the signal to drop the 18-year-old Marc Guiu and bring in the 35-year-old Lewandowski. Vitor Roque also came on for Joao Felix.
Roque was lively and lifted the crowd. But it was Yamal’s quality that won the victory late on. Barcelona moves within five points of leader Real Madrid, which plays on Sunday.
But as the screen in Xavi’s booth showed, what really matters now is the visit of Napoli on Tuesday, with the match tied at 1-1 from the first leg.
