While the youngster is seemingly firing on all cylinders again, Barca boss Flick has reiterated that Yamal’s workload will have to be carefully managed. He said when delivering a fitness update on the exciting forward: “I am happy that Lamine is back on this level, but how I said also, we don’t know what is tomorrow; we don’t know what is next Sunday. The important thing is that he manages this situation he has now because it’s not easy. He has to be focused on what he has to do, how he has to train and also the treatment. If he manages that the right way, hopefully it goes away, but it’s not easy to say when with the situation.”
Yamal will want to play as often as possible for Barcelona, with a talismanic role being taken on for the Liga giants. Rivals around the world are rightly wary of what he can deliver on any given day.
That makes him an easy target for rough treatment on and off the field, with full-blooded challenges coming his way along with taunts from the crowd. Yamal has, however, learned how to turn a deaf ear to any detractors and considers boos to be a mark of respect.
He said of being jeered against Brugge: “It’s no coincidence. If it were another player, they wouldn’t boo. They boo me because they know I do my job well on the field. Little by little, the boos have stopped. That means I’ve done my job well, and I’m not worried about it.”