In the lead-up to Wednesday’s Champions League showdown against Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona have been boosted by the return of Lamine Yamal, who was back in action during the weekend victory over Real Sociedad after a couple of weeks out with a pubis injury.
Lamine Yamal starred off the bench against La Real, and he will be in the starting line-up to face PSG. Inside the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, there will be a lot of eyes on him, although Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick wants to see his star player raise his level once again, as per Diario AS.
“I don’t like to glorify Lamine so much. He is 18 years old. He has to focus on working hard. He has the talent and is at a very high level, but to reach the next level, to go up a step or two, he has to keep working – and he can do it. Football is not only about attacking, it is also about defending.”
Flick confident on Ronald Araujo despite previous PSG woes
Wednesday’s match will mark the first time that Barcelona and PSG have faced each other since their quarter-final tie in 2023-24. On that occasion, an early Ronald Araujo red card led to the Catalans collapsing to an aggregate defeat, but Flick is not concerned about a repeat in 2025.
“No. It’s the past. It happened two years ago and it is not a current situation. I have confidence in Ronald’s strengths. I’m really happy with him and with his performance.”
Araujo is in line to start on Wednesday, although he could be rotated out as he was in the line-up that faced La Real at the weekend. Flick opened up on his reasons behind making so many changes at centre-back in the first few weeks of the season.
“We need to pick the right players in the ideal position. I have a lot of quality in my team and we have to manage it, that’s all. It’s not that he hasn’t found the pair of centre-backs, it has to do with the characteristics of the opponents’ play.”
