What an extraordinary night Lamine Yamal had. Before entering the field, he prayed with both hands close to his face. African Muslim blood flows in his veins. This young Spanish player entered the field with the purity of the month of Ramadan. He entered the football field after fasting. First he received an assist. Then he scored a spectacular goal himself.
In between, he had a short break at sunset. The great Lamine Yamal helped Barcelona win the match. He got 1 goal and 1 assist in the match against Benfica. The most amazing thing is that Lamine Yamal scored all of the assists, iftars and goals in just 17 minutes.
Despite leading 1-0 on aggregate, Barcelona did not let Benfica off the hook from the start of the match. As a result, the 17-year-old Yamal showed his magic in the 11th minute of the match. Yamal passed several Benfica defenders and entered the box with his left foot and sent the ball to the other end. Rafinha was standing there in a completely empty space. The Brazilian, who has been in great form this season, did not make a mistake in sending the ball to the net.
After about three minutes, it was time for iftar. The Spanish winger broke his fast when the sun set in the 14th minute of the match. He was the only one in the Barcelona team to take to the field fasting, while Orkun Koccu and Kerem Ertuglu were fasting in the Benfica squad.
Like many other football matches, this Champions League match also had a special ‘Ramadan break’ to show respect for Ramadan, one of the holiest months for the Muslim community. That’s why Yamal had Iftar by drinking water on the field.
After this short break, Lamine showed the best moment of the match. It showed Yamal’s football talent once again. Yamal went very close to the touchline to take control of the ball. From there, he turned around and scored a curved shot from outside the D-box. That great goal could also be one of the best goals of the season.
Yamal also set a record with this goal. At 17 years and 241 days old, the Spanish winger is now the youngest footballer to score and assist in the same Champions League match. The record for goals and assists was set by Brill Embolo for FC Basel in 2014 at the age of 17 years and 263 days.
Lamine Yamal’s magical night saw Barcelona win 3-1. The two-legged win came 4-1 on aggregate. Barca became the first team to reach the last eight in this year’s Champions League. Their opponent in the semi-finals will be the winner of the Dortmund-Lille match on Wednesday.
