Lamine Yamal reacts to record-breaking Barcelona debut
Lamine Yamal has admitted that his nerves gradually faded away when he made his record-breaking for Barcelona on Saturday, becoming the club’s youngest ever La Liga player at just 15-years-old.
Yamal had previously been on the bench for La Liga games against Atletico Madrid and Rayo Vallecano without getting on the pitch, before being given seven minutes plus stoppage time at the end of Saturday’s win over Real Betis.
The locally-born youngster broke the record held by teammate Ansu Fati, who had come off the bench himself just over 20 minutes earlier in the game.
"I felt a lot of emotions,” Yamal told club media.
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“When I went onto the field, I was impressed by watching the Camp Nou. But, little by little, all my nerves went away and I tried to be as comfortable as possible. My teammates also helped me a lot and I thank them. I'm very happy to be able to have this record, but I hope to be able to beat more.
"Xavi told me to gain confidence with the first passes and, if I could, to do what I always did. That's what I tried. My teammates also told me that and, when we finished, they congratulated me.”
Speaking ahead of the game, Xavi had said, "[Yamal] is very talented, despite being 15 years old. He has personality, talent, one-on-ones, he is strong.
“He is a player who can define an important era in the club.”
Barcelona remain 11 points clear of Real Madrid in La Liga after the latest round of fixtures, putting the Catalans one step closer to their first title since 2018/19.