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Lamine Yamal Makes Champions League History With Record Setting Performance
Words simply can't describe what Lamine Yamal is doing for Barcelona as a teenager. Simply put, he's already one of the best players on the planet.
In Barcelona's Champions League round of 16 second leg vs. Benfica, Yamal stole the show and made history by setting a new Champions League record. At 17-years and 241-days-old, the Spain international became the youngest player to have a goal and assist in the same game in Champions League history.
The manner in which Yamal achieved such a feat perfectly encapsulates his brilliance and why he's considered as one of the greatest teenagers to ever play the sport. He set-up Raphinha for Barcelona's opener with a dazzling play in which he left defenders on the ground before leaving the Brazilian perfectly positioned for a tap-in.
Yamal's goal to set the record was a thing of beauty. The La Masia product began his run from near the corner-flag, got away from his man and curled a stunning strike into the far post for an absolute stunner of a goal. It was a goal reminiscent of the one he scored against France in the 2024 European Cup semifinals.
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Yamal became the second youngest Barcelona player to score a goal in the knockout stages of the Champions League. Bojan Kirkić scored against Schalke 04 in the 2008 quarterfinals at 17-years and 217-days-old.
With his brilliant performance against Benfica, Yamal reached 12 goals and 17 assists across all competitions this season. At only 17-years-old, he's one goal involvement away from reaching a 30 G+A campaign in his second season as a Barcelona player.
Barcelona now await to see who they'll play in the Champions League quarterfinals, where Yamal will look to continue his already historic season.
Yamal and Barça will be back in action this weekend in a pivotal game in the La Liga title race, traveling to the Metropolitano to face Atlético Madrid on Sunday, Mar. 16 for their final match before the international break.
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Roberto Casillas is a writer for SI FC, focusing primarily on FC Barcelona, the Mexico National Team, Liga MX and all things Latin American football. Born and raised in Mexico City, he developed a deep passion for football from an early age and fell in love with Cruz Azul. The once future star of Mexican football still likes to showcase what’s left of his talent on the Sunday league pitch. He’s also a big fan of the New England Patriots—so much so he moved to the region for four years—, Chicago Cubs and is a life-long Formula 1 follower. When he takes a break from sports, he enjoys traveling the world, watching the latest great TV show, going to concerts and spending plenty of time with friends and family.