‘An extraordinary player’… Ernesto Valverde acknowledges Barcelona forward’s brilliance after 2-0 loss | OneFootball

FC Barcelona faced Athletic Club in their opening game of the Spanish Super Cup and came out victorious with a 2-0 scoreline to advance to the final of the competition.

This would have been a special match for several individuals. One of these would have been the Blaugrana defender Iñigo Martínez, who faced his former side. Similarly, this game would also have been special for the Athletic Club coach Ernesto Valverde, who also faced his former club.

As SPORT has reported, the Spanish tactician regretted his team’s defeat in this game in the press conference after the game. But in addition to his team’s troubles, he also talked about one Barcelona player in particular, the winger Lamine Yamal.

Talking about the Barcelona gems’s exceptional qualities, the coach said:

“With the ball, Lamine is exceptional. When he gets the ball, it’s not just about what he can do—he has a radar that sees both nearby and far away. He’s an extraordinary player, and the decisions he makes are usually the best ones”

Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images

There is no doubting Valverde’s words, as Yamal has been displaying these qualities at the highest level for more than a year now. Last night, he once again made himself prominent with a goal that he scored in the second half to double his side’s lead on the night.

On the other hand, his unique qualities were also prominently on display in the last few weeks when he was unable to play for Barcelona due to physical issues. The Blaugranes clearly struggled to win their games in the Spaniard’s absence.

However, he returned to action last night, and hopefully, he has already fully recovered from these issues and will be able to help his team win some important pieces of silverware in this second half of the season, starting with the Spanish Super Cup on Sunday.