‘I’m better than him’ – Red Star Belgrade wonderkid challenges Lamine Yamal ahead of Barcelona clash | OneFootball

FC Barcelona are set to take on Red Star Belgrade in the UEFA Champions League later today. A victory against the Serbian team would give the Catalan club three wins out of four in the league phase.

Hansi Flick’s men did not start their Champions League campaign on the best note, suffering a loss to AS Monaco after going down to 10 men just 10 minutes into the game. However, they rebounded with two impressive victories against Young Boys and Bayern Munich.

Barcelona head into the game against Belgrade as favorites on paper, but Flick will ensure his team doesn’t get complacent. The German coach will demand the same effort his players displayed when they faced Bayern Munich.

Ahead of the game, there’s been talk of an exciting showdown between Andrija Maksimović, nicknamed the ‘Serbian Messi’, and Barcelona’s own Lamine Yamal.

Both players are 17 and are expected to have bright futures, though Yamal has already established himself as one of the game’s top attacking talents.

In his pre-match press conference ahead of the UCL clash, as highlighted by SPORT, Maksimović acknowledged Yamal’s talent but expressed his desire to prove himself as the better player on the field. He said:

“He [ Lamine Yamal ] is a great player; we’ve met before, and tomorrow I’ll go out on the field to show that I’m better than him. There’s also Cubarsi. Both of them are my age. I hope we can swap jerseys after the game.”

At 17, Maksimović is showing an elite mentality. He recognizes Yamal’s immense talent but is driven by the ambition to prove he can match or surpass the Spaniard. He also gave a nod to Pau Cubarsí, another young Barcelona talent who doesn’t often receive as much praise but has been equally impressive.

That said, there aren’t many players in the world who can match Yamal’s skills at the moment. He competes not only with other young players but with top attackers in general, as reflected in his ranking in the recently concluded Ballon d’Or.

Both Maksimović and Yamal are destined for great heights, though for now, the 17-year-old Kopa Trophy winner seems to have a higher ceiling. Maksimović, however, has plenty of potential to grow, and tonight’s match will be an exciting opportunity to see how these two 17-year-olds, along with Pau Cubarsí, perform on the big stage.