Lamine Yamal: “Let’s see if ‘Cholo’ does me a favor and puts me one on one with a player”

FC Barcelona striker Lamine Yamal encouraged Atlético de Madrid coach, Diego Pablo Simeone, to do him “a favor” and put “some player” in front of him so that he can play “one against one” during the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals this Tuesday (9:00 p.m.), in which he sees a “comeback very possible” despite the 0-2 in the first leg.

“I feel very good, I’m really looking forward to tomorrow’s game. I’m motivated for that and I hope I can make a difference. Let’s see if ‘Cholo’ does me a favor and puts me one on one with a player,” said the Barça player in the press conference prior to the match.

Barcelona faces this match with the aim of overturning the tie, a scenario that Yamal contemplates and for which he feels “confident.” “I think we have a team full of players who can turn the game around on their own and that’s why I’m confident in my team,” he said.

“If we are eliminated, it will be fighting until the end, we will not leave a single minute without pushing, without running, we will leave everything for this shield. I believe it will be a game of 90 minutes or more because we are sure that it is not over and I believe that a comeback is very possible and that is what we are here for,” he added.

Yamal reiterated that “the key is not to think that it is a miracle to come back” because it is important that they play true to their style. “Play as we know how, with intensity, but without losing our game. Barça has been behind the Champions League for many years. We really want to get through the round, we are Barça. We believe we can pass and unite in everything so that it continues like this,” he noted.

“I think we are a young team. We are all ‘culers’. We have shown it many times. I think what we have done all season, fighting for the shield. We really want to be in the semifinals and tomorrow we will do everything. The Champions League has this condition and it is very important for games like tomorrow’s. We are all from the house, we all love Barça, we love it and we will do everything until the end,” he said.

The Blaugrana ’10’ downplayed the last image he left during the visit to the Metropolitano in the League ten days ago where after the victory (1-2) he came out visibly angry. “In every game there is a lot of tension and it’s part of the game, but it’s already in the past. We’re thinking about tomorrow’s game and when things haven’t gone well, I try to help the team, give my best and nothing more. It’s the only thing that matters to me,” he explained.

“I have been questioned a lot about my level, about the pubalgia, but I have reached these moments, when the real players come out and I am looking forward to tomorrow,” he confessed.

Finally, Lamine Yamal stressed that in a few years he hopes to see himself “with many more titles” than he has now. “I hope I can have a World Cup and a Champions League because they are the two most important competitions in football,” he said, acknowledging that he has always dreamed of “scoring goals with Barça in the Champions League.” “That’s what makes me happiest,” he concluded.