Lamine Yamal receives strong warning from Barcelona coach Hansi Flick: ‘He has to prove how good he is’

FC Barcelona have recently struggled to deliver consistent results and convincing performances. This has been particularly evident in the UEFA Champions League, where they lost to Chelsea this week. In that context, head coach Hansi Flick spoke specifically about Lamine Yamal.

The young Spanish winger was in the spotlight after a poor performance at Stamford Bridge last Tuesday, where he was effectively neutralized by Chelsea left-back Marc Cucurella. This drew sharp criticism toward Yamal, and now Flick has addressed the situation.

“Lamine is fine and feeling good,” the coach said during Friday’s press conference, according to AS. “But for me, now it’s up to him to step up and show that we need to forget the Chelsea match. Now is when he has to prove how good he is.”

Flick also commented on Yamal’s performance in England. “Cucurella is one of the best full-backs in the world, a very good player,” he said, explaining the difficulties the winger had in getting past the Chelsea defender.

Another point of criticism for Lamine this week was his frustrated reaction when being substituted in the final minutes of the Champions League match. “Many players aren’t happy when we make a substitution. I was a player too, and many times I didn’t react the way I should have,” the Barcelona coach admitted, downplaying the incident.

Lamine Yamal’s season

After leading FC Barcelona to three titles and a Champions League semifinal last season, Lamine Yamal finished second in the 2025 Ballon d’Or voting at just 18 years old. That put him squarely in the spotlight, with fans and the media expecting big things from him in every match.

That pressure has not been beneficial for the Spanish winger, who has faced several physical challenges this season and has not always delivered consistently. Still, his numbers for the 2025-26 campaign are far from disappointing.

Yamal has played 13 of FC Barcelona’s 18 matches this season. In La Liga, he has recorded 4 goals and 7 assists in 9 appearances—averaging more than a goal contribution per game. In the Champions League, he has 2 goals and 1 assist in 4 matches.

Flick’s candid admission on the Chelsea loss

In the same press conference, Hansi Flick was honest about how the Champions League defeat affected FC Barcelona. “Mentally, we are all down,” the German coach acknowledged. “The loss to Chelsea was tough. We thought we could win.”

However, Flick made it clear that the focus must now shift to the future. “We need to be optimistic ahead of the next match,” he explained. FC Barcelona’s next challenge is a La Liga match against Alaves this Saturday at Camp Nou.