The first El Clasico of the season went about as well as possible, if you’re a FC Barcelona supporter. Robert Lewandowski was man of the match, as he bagged a brace/scored half of his side’s goals in the 4-0 rout at Real Madrid. However, it right winger Lamine Yamal who truly stole the show.
He didn’t just make history, he also provoked Los Blancos and their fans with both his goal celebrations and his post match comments on Saturday night.
Lamine Yamal Celebration OMG???pic.twitter.com/TkMOPQ8dyG
— Berneese (@the_berneese_) October 26, 2024
In scoring his first El Clasico goal, to put his side up 3-0, Yamal netted at the age of 17 years and 105 days. That’s the youngest ever, and it broke the record previously held by Ansu Fati, of 17 years and 359 days.
It iced the game for Barca, and it propelled Hansi Flick’s men to six points up at the top of the table. And then, to add style to the substance Lamine mocked Vinicius Jr. by copying his celebration dance. Teammate Alejandro Balde joined in.
Youngest goalscorer in El Clásico history, future Ballon d’Or winner
LAMINE. YAMAL. 304 TO THE WORLD pic.twitter.com/WCQUoGqAT0
— C (@ctt_carys) October 26, 2024
But he wasn’t done! He then trolled Madrid club legend Cristiano Ronaldo by pointing to his name on the back of his shirt.
Just like CR7 once did after scoring at the Camp Nou. Then, during the post match mixed zone media availability, Lamine Yamal smiled through his Blaugrana braces to tell reporters that it’s “a lot of fun when you can hear your fans more than those of the opposition in its stadium.”
Yamal said that he had told his friends he would show off his braces when (not if, but when) he scored in El Clasico today.
Instances like these are a big part of how and why this is the best rivalry in all of sports.
Barca have now won 12/14 across all competitions this season. The Hansi Flick era is off to a rip roaring start, but he brought perspective/tried to keep everybody grounded with his post match comments.
“We start the journey and we’re doing really well,” Flick said after the emotional win.
“Like I always say, we have to make things better and we do it also, but today was not easy. We keep going with our idea, we have a flow at the moment and we have to keep going.
“I’ve always said I’m really happy to work for Barça and also to live in Barcelona. It’s an amazing job, it’s a new part of my life and it feels really good. Today we made a fantastic match and I’m really proud about the team.
“And how we play is very important as well.
“This will give the players more confidence. The celebration in the dressing room was good to see.
“Now we have a recovery day, then I give the players two days off and after the focus is on Espanyol next weekend.”
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.