Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal warned by Flick over defensive effort ahead of Champions League tie against PSG

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick has called for a stronger defensive performance from young right-winger Lamine Yamal. The Spanish attacker will be Barcelona’s go-to player against the defending Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday. Flick’s warning to Yamal takes greater importance considering the Parisians have won their last two away encounters at Camp Nou, and could become the first team to pick three away wins at Barcelona in a major European competition.

Speaking about the intense media blitz over Yamal, Flick tried to downplay the attention that the Spaniard has been accumulating. At the Champions League presser ahead of the game, Flick said, “For me, hyping a player up so much isn’t good. We’re focused on working hard. He’s talented and can go very high, and he can reach even higher levels, but he has to work hard. It’s not just about how good you are with the ball, but you also have to work defensively.”

Yamal has made a fast start to the season, scoring two goals and jotting three assists in four games already. Flick also spoke about Barcelona’s summer signing from Manchester United, Marcus Rashford adapting to Spain quickly.

Story continues below this ad

“Everyone can see it in the last games, the Newcastle match gives him a lot of confidence and now he’s here, he’s now arrived in Barcelona,” said Flick. “This is not always easy to come to La Liga… with different opponents, a different style of how we play football, he’s adapted (well).”

Rashford joined Barcelona on loan with an option to buy earlier this summer. The forward, who wasn’t seen a fit for Man Utd manager Ruben Amorim’s system, chose to leave Manchester United on his second loan spell – after a stint with Aston Villa last season – in order to gain game time and keep his hopes of making the England national team for the World Cup alive.