Lamine Yamal, fresh from Barcelona’s dominant 5-1 win over Mallorca in LaLiga on Tuesday, joked about how to do his fancy “trivela” assist on the FIFA video game.
The 17-year-old returned to the starting XI for the first time since November 3 after recovering from an ankle injury.
His presence on the pitch proved to be instrumental in helping Barça end a three-game winless streak in the league.
Yamal won the penalty for Barca’s second goal and delivered a spectacular outside-of-the-boot assist for Raphinha’s strike, which he amusingly explained can be mimicked on the popular PlayStation game.
“I think the button on FIFA is L2 [for the trivela pass],” Yamal said after the game.
“It is something I can do quite well, something I usually do and something I will keep doing.
“I am really happy for Raphinha, we have a good understanding, and he knows when I am in that area of the pitch, I will always try that pass.”
Win as a unit. pic.twitter.com/JlSjbkTxzh
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) December 4, 2024
The game saw Ferran Torres open the scoring, only for Vedat Muriqi to equalise before half-time.
Barca dominated the second half with two goals from Raphinha – his 15th and 16th of the season – and contributions from substitutes Frenkie de Jong and Pau Victor.
De Jong’s goal came after another brilliant outside-of-the-foot pass from Yamal, who seems to have nailed the tricky technique.
The win pushed Barcelona four points clear at the top of LaLiga, though Real Madrid, sitting in second place, have two games in hand.
Yamal added: “It was a really important win after two defeats [in three games] in LaLiga. So it was important to win with a result like this. We are really happy.
“We have been good in the Champions League, but in LaLiga we were dropping silly points. This was a big win for everyone. The goals for those that play less will give them a lot of confidence.”
Barca’s record with Yamal in the starting lineup this season has been flawless – 12 wins from 12 games.
In contrast, they’ve failed to win any of the four matches he hasn’t started, with three losses and one draw.
