Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said on Friday that Lamine Yamal must work hard and continue to replicate his performance against Inter Milan to reach the level of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Yamal, 17, scored Barça’s first goal as they fought back to draw 3-3 with Inter in the Champions League semifinal first leg on Wednesday, with his display earning praise around the globe.
Inter coach Simone Inzaghi labelled him a talent that only comes along every 50 years, while Flick called him a genius after the match.
“He knows what I want from him,” Flick said ahead of Saturday’s LaLiga game against Real Valladolid when asked what the next step is for Yamal.
“When you are able to play at this level, you have to show it again. It’s not about one game. Every player has potential to get better and this is also what he needs.
“It’s not only the talent, the genius he is, it’s also hard work when you want to reach this level, [like Cristiano] Ronaldo, [Lionel] Messi, the big, big players in the past.
“We all have to stay calm and let’s see what happens. We are really happy that he’s playing with us and he’s on this level at 17, it’s unbelievable.
“We know he also has to work hard to [maintain] this and maybe to get better and better. I think also he wants this. It’s not the end.”
Yamal, who has scored 15 goals and created 24 more this season, is one of several players who could rest when Barça travel to bottom of the table Valladolid in LaLiga on Saturday.
Flick said there will be changes with the second leg against Inter to come on Tuesday, with goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen set to come into the side for his first appearance since injuring his knee in September.
“Marc will be back,” Flick revealed. “He is in a good way. His performances in training are great.
“I think it’s also good for Tek [Wojciech Szczesny] to recover a little bit. I am not thinking about [definitive] changes until the end of the season. It’s the Valladolid game and then we see.”
While Barça will rotate against Valladolid, whose relegation to the second division was confirmed last week, they can’t afford to take their foot off the gas too much.
With five games to go in Spain’s top flight, they lead Real Madrid, who they host in the Clásico on May 11, by just four points at the top of the table in their pursuit of a treble.
“LaLiga is the most important [trophy],” Flick added. “When you win this title, it’s the honest title. For a long, long season, you have to play at the highest level.
“It doesn’t matter where Valladolid are playing next season, they are now in LaLiga. We respect them. We are focused. You can lose the LaLiga title in these matches.”
Barça, who have already won the first leg of a possible treble, the Copa del Rey, remain without the injured trio of Alejandro Balde, Robert Lewandowski and Marc Casadó, with all three pushing to return against Inter.
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