Hansi Flick: 'Yamal's new position truly impresses me'

Barcelona maintained their impressive offensive performance when they beat Real Betis 5-3 in La Liga on the morning of December 7th (Vietnam time). Interestingly, Hansi Flick surprised everyone by deploying the young player Lamine Yamal in the “number 10” role.

This was a rare occasion for Yamal to be tested as an attacking midfielder instead of his usual right-wing spot. Flick’s bold decision yielded immediate results as Barcelona consistently created space through the middle and enhanced the connection between Yamal and Bardghji, two promising youngsters expected to become future pillars at Camp Nou.

After the match, Hansi Flick expressed great satisfaction with Yamal’s performance in the new role, revealing that this choice was carefully planned and discussed with both the coaching staff and the player.

The German coach shared: “I saw Lamine perform very well, both defensively. He worked well with his teammates. This is one of the options we have. We discussed it within the coaching team. We asked him if he wanted to play as a ‘number 10’ and he agreed. Everything I saw from Lamine tonight was very positive. The link-up with Roony was also good.”

Flick particularly praised Yamal’s defensive contribution, a factor that often challenges young players when operating in the congested central areas. He stated: “The most important thing is his defensive contribution which was excellent.”

Although Barcelona scored 5 goals, their defense still conceded 3 goals to Betis, including 2 late in the match. However, Flick was not overly concerned, attributing this to fatigue given Barca’s congested schedule.

Hansi Flick explained: “I think the first half was very good, but in the second half we got tired. Defensively, we couldn’t maintain control in the final minutes. But I want to focus on the positive, though of course we will analyze it further. The most important thing is that we won.”

The victory over Betis allows Barcelona to continue leading La Liga and maintain momentum during this crucial end-of-year period. Flick’s bold experiment with Lamine Yamal in a new role also opens up more tactical options for Barca as the team seeks stability after a shaky start to the season.

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