Lamine Yamal‘s meteoric rise in world soccer continues to astonish followers, and his newest achievement has additional solidified his standing as one of many sport’s brightest younger abilities. In FC Barcelona‘s conflict in opposition to Benfica, the Spanish prodigy reached a outstanding milestone in UEFA Champions League historical past — one which got here even sooner than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Going through a troublesome problem at Montjuic Stadium, FC Barcelona took on Benfica to safe a spot within the Champions League quarterfinals following a slim 1-0 first-leg end result. The Catalan facet struck early when Yamal delivered a wonderfully timed cross to Raphinha, who discovered the online within the eleventh minute.
Benfica rapidly responded with an equalizer within the thirteenth minute, however Barcelona reclaimed the lead when Yamal produced a shocking strike into the highest nook. {The teenager}’s brilliance continued as Raphinha sealed the win along with his second objective, confirming Barcelona’s place within the subsequent spherical.
Yamal outshines Messi and Ronaldo
Within the sport in opposition to Benfica, Lamine Yamal turned the youngest participant in Champions League historical past to attain and help in a single sport. The Spanish younger star achieved this feat at simply 17 years and 241 days.
For comparability, Lionel Messi first completed the identical milestone within the 2005-06 Champions League group stage on the age of 18, when Barcelona defeated Panathinaikos 5-0, with Messi contributing a objective and an help.
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In Cristiano Ronaldo‘s case, it took longer to succeed in this achievement. The Portuguese star achieved the feat within the 2006-07 Champions League quarterfinals on the age of twenty-two, when Manchester United thrashed AS Roma 7-1, with Ronaldo scoring two targets and registering one help.
Up to now, Yamal has tallied 3 targets and 5 assists in 19 Champions League appearances. Moreover, he’s set to interrupt Julian Draxler‘s report for the most Champions League knockout spherical appearances earlier than turning 18 if he performs within the quarterfinals. This could mark one more outstanding achievement in Yamal’s already spectacular profession.