The Nations League final wasn’t Lamine Yamal’s finest hour considering the ridiculous standards that he’d set himself over the course of the 2024/25 season.
However, it’s not the time or the place to be overly critical of this soon to be 18-year-old who is redefining the footballing paradigm and, what’s more, doing it with ease.
It’s scarcely believable that in the space of a couple of seasons Lamine has risen to become the go-to guy for Barcelona and a major factor is Spain’s recent successes.
Though he was mainly kept under wraps by Portugal’s Nuno Mendes on Sunday night, it was clear that he had been tasked with playing a more withdrawn role in any event, which was always going to negate his influence going forward against a full-back that could match him stride for stride.