Lamine Yamal Pulls Off a Near-Rabona to Set Up Gordon as Barça Storm Back in Istanbul

A "near-rabona" that turned into an assist and a win. That's how Lamine Yamal himself described the play that capped off a spectacular night in Istanbul, where Barcelona came from behind to beat Galatasaray 4-1 in the Champions League.

The 19-year-old academy product didn't get on the scoresheet, but he was without question the headline act of the match. In the second half he delivered two assists that completely changed the complexion of the game: first a pinpoint cross for Fermín López's goal, and then one of his signature pieces of skill ahead of Anthony Gordon's strike. He faked a rabona to wrong-foot the defender, the ball rolled toward the byline with a favorable bounce, and Yamal reacted in a flash to burst into the box and lay the goal on a platter for the Englishman.

After the final whistle, still watching the replay, Yamal himself laughed off his own invention: "I don't know what to call it, it was almost a rabona dribble. It worked out well to set up Gordon, that's the main thing, that it ended up being effective," he told Movistar.

A Calculated Move, Not a Fluke

In another interview, this time with CBS, Yamal told Thierry Henry that the play wasn't pure improvisation. "Lately I've noticed that a lot of opponents, every time I get to the byline, they throw themselves to the ground, so I saw the opportunity, I took it, and it worked out," he said. He added something that explains much of his game right now: "I always try to fake things out to create space. If you manage to create a little space that way, it gives us forwards life. It was nice, but it was also effective, so I'm very happy."

His numbers this season are already turning heads: in 10 matches with Barça, Yamal has 8 goals and 9 assists (7 goals and 5 assists in LaLiga, 1 goal and 4 assists in the first two Champions League matchdays). His coach, Hansi Flick, didn't hold back with praise after the match: "In the second half he was fantastic, how he controlled the game, the final pass... what he's doing is incredible," said the German, who credited Yamal with having "changed the course of the match" in Istanbul.

The win in Turkey was Barça's tenth straight to open the season (eight in LaLiga and two in the Champions League), with 43 goals scored over that stretch. Asked whether he believes a treble of LaLiga, the Champions League and the Copa del Rey is possible this campaign, Yamal didn't hesitate: "Always. We're Barcelona, we're the best team in the world."

That statement will be put to the test soon: Barça visits Real Betis, third in LaLiga, on Saturday, hosts PSG on Tuesday in Europe's top competition, and closes out the week with the season's first Clásico against Real Madrid.

The Lemina Chapter

The match also carried a small bit of pre-game controversy. Turkish midfielder Mario Lemina, asked whether he preferred Yamal or his teammate Leroy Sané, answered sarcastically: "Who is Yamal?" The Barça academy product responded first on the field, with his performance in Istanbul, and then on social media, with an Instagram post accompanied by a direct message: "Do you know me now?"