Lamine Yamal has said Barcelona are the new favourites to win the Champions League after Liverpool were knocked out by Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16.
Barça finished second behind Liverpool in the revamped league phase of the competition and then beat Benfica to set up a quarterfinal clash with Borussia Dortmund.
A potential semifinal with Bayern Munich or Inter Milan would then follow, with Clásico rivals Real Madrid, Arsenal, PSG or Aston Villa then waiting in a hypothetical final.
“We shouldn’t fear anyone,” Barça winger Yamal told Diario Sport when asked about a possible showdown with 15-time winners Madrid.
“I said that Liverpool were the favourites because they finished first in the league phase and then came us. I don’t fear any team. We are the side that does the most damage to Madrid, and vice versa.
“If you think you’re not favourites, you’re already starting to lose. Don’t think teams can beat you. Think that you’re the best team, play the best football and have the best chance of winning.”
Barça’s belief has been fuelled by an 18-game unbeaten streak in 2025, a run which has included improbable late comebacks against Benfica and Atlético Madrid.
Hansi Flick’s side came from 4-2 down to beat Benfica 5-4 in January and then scored four times in the final 20 minutes to recover from a two-goal deficit to beat Atlético 4-2 in LaLiga on Sunday.
“The feeling I have is that I am part of a winning team,” Yamal added. “Last year against Atlético, a game like Sunday, we don’t turn that around.
“The same goes for that match against Benfica. We have the feeling that we are winners and we want more and more.”
That win against Atlético took Barça back to the top of LaLiga, level on points with Madrid with a game in hand. They are also still in the Copa del Rey, where their semifinal against Atlético is delicately poised at 4-4 after the first leg.
Forward Ferran Torres, who scored twice off the bench against Atlético at the weekend, said the players believe they can repeat the Treble the club won in 2009 and 2015.
“We’re dreamers and we think we’re capable [of a treble],” he told Mundo Deportivo.
“We’re still alive in all three competitions and until we either win it or are knocked out, we’re going to believe it’s possible.
“The win over Atlético is one of those games that helps form a team. It breeds that winning culture and we believe in ourselves.
“I think it was a statement win which said that however a game is going, we have enough character to turn it around.”
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