'Spectacular' Barca star Yamal finds new ways to amaze

Lamine Yamal continues to amaze audiences with new feats after his breakout performance at last summer's European Championship. The 17-year-old made history in Tuesday night's Champions League match, becoming the youngest player ever to score and assist in the competition, helping Barcelona defeat Benfica and advance to the quarter-finals.

This season, Yamal has already contributed 28 goals and is approaching 60 goal contributions for club and country. It is worth emphasizing that he is only 17 years old. The young player displays a confidence beyond his years, which was evident in his assist and goal against Benfica.

After dribbling into the opponent's penalty area, he skillfully passed the ball to Raphinha at the far post, who volleyed it into the net. Then, it was Yamal's turn to score, and his goal was equally brilliant. He found space on the edge of the box and easily curled the ball into the far corner of the goal, beyond the goalkeeper's reach. "His goal was fantastic," teammate Raphinha commented, "It fully demonstrates Lamine's ability - he is a talented player."

Barcelona defeated Benfica 3-1 on the night and advanced to the quarter-finals with a 4-1 aggregate score, where they will face either Dortmund or Lille. Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said: "Lamine hadn't scored for a long time, six games, over a month, so he's very happy because it was a very important goal for us, a great effort. We are all happy for him because he is a great kid and an excellent player."

Prior to Barcelona's second-leg match against Benfica in the round of 16, former England midfielder Owen Hargreaves compared Yamal's rise to that of Wayne Rooney, who broke through at Everton at the age of 16. Rooney later became Manchester United's all-time leading scorer and England's top scorer until surpassed by Harry Kane. Hargreaves said on TNT Sports: "I've never seen a 17-year-old this consistent. You see players have flashes. I think back to seeing Wayne Rooney and thinking he was just out of this world, but this kid is just unbelievable. He scores goals, creates goals, and he makes it look so easy. He is the best 17-year-old I have ever seen."

Yamal has made 50 appearances for Barcelona last season and has already made 36 appearances this season, indicating that he is already an indispensable player for the club. But former Liverpool and England winger Steve McManaman warned against overusing him at such a young age. He said: "You have to be careful because we've seen it with Pedri, he's played a lot of games, and we've seen it with Ansu Fati, Gavi, they've all had terrible injuries between 18 and 20, and it's really affected them. I think he's in the right place because Barcelona are used to bringing players through. My only concern is injuries. I hope in a year's time I'm not saying he's had a terrible injury because it's happened before at Barcelona. He's too good to be missing from the football pitch."