Atlético Madrid viral post mocks Lamine Yamal after Barça elimination

When the clock struck 12:12 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Atlético Madrid’s Instagram account delivered a pointed message toward Lamine Yamal without naming the Rocafonda-born forward. Four of their attackers – Antoine Griezmann, Julián Álvarez, Ademola Lookman and Alexander Sørloth – appeared wearing sunglasses with yellow-tinted lenses, wired headphones in their ears and stern expressions. A single sunglasses emoji accompanied the images, with no caption needed to make the message land.

It was the same visual LeBron James posted in 2016 to fuel belief in a comeback from a 3-1 deficit – a rally the Cleveland Cavaliers ultimately completed against Golden State. The image had already been referenced by Barcelona’s No. 10 in the buildup.

The Barcelona attacker had changed his profile picture to one of the Los Angeles Lakers star after his championship run in Cleveland, later admitting the influence. “He’s one of my role models. I’ll think about how he did it. We have many leaders in the team. I consider myself one, but I’m not the only one,” he said.

Dani Olmo also jumped on board, responding on Snapchat to the question, “Do you think there will be a comeback?” with a photo of himself mimicking LeBron James.

Barcelona’s comeback hopes, which had briefly seemed to be gathering momentum, ultimately fizzled out. Lookman’s goal and Atlético’s resistance, backed by the roar of the Metropolitano, brought the narrative crashing down. Atlético put on the glasses and fixed their gaze firmly on the semifinals.

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