Why did Barcelona starlet Lamine Yamal “disappear” during the Champions League game with Porto?

Barcelona are in a very strong position to qualify for the Champions League knockout rounds for the first time since 2020-21 after recording a second successive Group H victory away to Porto on Wednesday. Ferran Torres scored the only goal in Portugal, although the main talking points of the match centred around Robert Lewandowski’s injury and Lamine Yamal’s “disappearance”.

What injury did Lewandowski suffer in Porto?

The Polish striker had to be replaced by goalscorer Torres 10 minutes before half-time after apparently suffering a blow to his ankle. The 35-year-old will undergo tests in the coming hours to determine the extent of the injury, although the early signs are said to be positive.

Xavi Hernández will be desperate to have his star striker available for selection in the coming weeks, especially with Frenkie de Jong, Pedri and Raphinha already on the treatment table and facing a race against time to be fit to play in El Clásico against Real Madrid on 28 October.

Lewandowski was not the only Barça player forced off against Porto, however. Teenage prodigy Yamal, who recently pledged his long-term future to the club, was given the nod to start ahead of Torres on the right-hand side of the attack but was unable to complete the game.

Lamine Yamal goes “missing” for almost 10 minutes

The 16-year-old somewhat mysteriously “disappeared” in the 71st minute but wasn’t officially substituted until nine minutes later, when defender Marcos Alonso came on in his place.

After the game, Xabi revealed his team had opted to play with 10 men due to their hope that Yamal would be able to return to the field, to no avail. “He felt bad, he felt ill. I was told he had a really sore stomach. We took advantage of a break in play for him to quickly go to the dressing room, but he couldn’t play on”. When you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go.

Yamal takes youngest Champions League starter record

The teenager became the youngest player to start a Champions League game at just 16 years and 68 days but missed out on the chance to become the competition’s youngest ever goalscorer. He should have plenty more opportunities to take the record this season, however, as the current holder, former Barça teammate Ansu Fati, was 17 years and 40 days old when he found the net against Inter in December 2019.