this is how Lamine Yamal strips the shame of Ousmane Dembélé

2023-10-15 08:00:23

Barcelona¿Lamine Yamal would have the prominence he has at Barça if Ousmane Dembélé had not decided to pack his bags to leave for Paris? There will never be an exact answer, because it will be kept forever more in the drawer of hypotheses, but logic invites us to think not. What is clear is that, while the Frenchman has made his debut at PSG with more pain than glory (no goals and two assists in 10 games) in a start full of doubts, the young Barça striker is debating the place with Raphinha and Ferran Torres.

Dembélé was the apple of Xavi’s eyes, his main advocate, and last season he was the clear starter on the right wing, while on the left he often opted for a fourth midfielder. That was actually the big click of last year, when the egarenc abandoned playing with two ends and bet on the climbs of Balde and the virtues of Gavi in ​​the left profile. This reduced minutes for Raphinha, who never fit on the left and who does not hide that he prefers to play on the right. The Brazilian, however, was in Dembélé’s shadow. He only managed to become a regular starter when the Frenchman was injured and it is fair to say that his performance from then on was remarkable. “There are footballers who need to feel like starters in order to gain confidence; Raphinha is one of them,” they assured ARA from the dressing room. On the other hand, Ferran, who spent a year to forget, has now shown how to make the most of his time off the bench.

With the departure of Dembélé, the ex-Leeds had started as a starter, but an expulsion for falling into the provocations of Getafe on the first day catapulted Lamine Yamal into the eleven. During Raphinha’s absence, the 16-year-old attacker chained two consecutive titles (Cádiz and Villarreal) and a third against Osasuna. He then came on as a substitute in four consecutive matches (three in the League and one in the Champions League) and did not start again until Barça-Sevilla in the eighth matchday, coinciding, precisely, in the eleventh with Raphinha, who made d ‘interior until he was injured. Regarding the four successive substitutions of Lamine Yamal, Xavi explained that it was necessary to “take care and protect” the young pearl, while also putting on the table that it is also necessary to “pursue the full-back” and collaborate in the team’s defensive structure . A high voltage physical demand for a player who still has a physique in training.

Lamine Yamal, who has returned to the eleven in the last three games, has applied himself in the duties with defensive matter and there is a data that supports him and, at the same time, leaves in evidence one of the main shortcomings of Dembélé. According to the statistics provided to the ARA by Carles and Marc Domènech from the Laboratory of LaTdT de Catalunya Ràdio, Rocafonda has already recovered the ball more times (31) in 487 minutes this season in the League than the French winger (26) in 1,415 minutes spread over 25 games last year. Raphinha is also disciplined in this aspect: 69 recoveries in 2,079 last year.

Synthetically: Raphinha stole a ball in La Liga every 30 minutes, while Dembélé stole one every 55. Lamine Yamal, this season, recovers a ball every 15 minutes. In terms of minutes played/losses ratio, the data also shows that, so far, the Spanish-Moroccan is more polished: his average is one every 22 minutes, Raphinha’s last season was every 20 minutes and the de Dembélé, each 18. It is also true that both the French and the Brazilian finish more on goal than the young talent.

Is Lamine Yamal less involved in matches?

And what about interventions? In the last few games it felt like Lamine Yamal was getting sick of asking for the ball, but not as many as he would have liked. In the comeback against Celta (3-2), in which he entered just after the break for Marcos Alonso, this began to jump into view. A tonic that was repeated during the 26 minutes he played in the tie (1-1) in Mallorca. When asked about this issue, Xavi said that it was necessary to get him the ball more “so that he tries one on one” and “empower him” when he is playing. Inside the locker room, this issue does not escape them and they attribute it to the fact that Lamine Yamal is very young. “It happened to Xavi at the beginning. It also happened to Iniesta. You have to earn the trust of your more experienced teammates. It’s part of a process,” they explain to ARA from Sant Joan Despí.

The 16-year-old striker made less contact with the ball against Celta than Raphinha, despite coming on in the 45th minute and the Brazilian in the 71st. The Brazilian, however, played inside and intervened on 18 occasions, while Lamine Yamal in 17. The starter on the right, Ferran Torres, made contact with the ball on 39 occasions in 71 minutes. On the left, João Félix had 54 interventions in 90 minutes. In Mallorca, the Spanish-Moroccan came on in the 63rd minute and intervened on 19 occasions. In 90 minutes, Raphinha, who started as a winger and finished as an inside player, made contact with the ball on up to 56 occasions. Already without the Brazilian, in Barça’s most complicated game this season, Lamine Yamal was the tenth player in interventions of the 15 Blaugrana who participated against Porto: 31 in 72 minutes before leaving the game due to intestinal problems, one less than Félix (32 in 68′), starter on the left.

Xavi wants the ball to reach him more. Lamine Yamal also makes a point of asking for it. He has just renewed for three more seasons and, according to the website Transfermarkt, reference site for many football clubs, with only 11 games this season he has already seen his value increase from 25 to 50 million euros.