Flick: Barcelona need to learn how to win without Yamal

Hansi Flick has urged Barcelona to find a way to win without the absent Lamine Yamal, as he misses a second consecutive match with an ankle injury.

The 17-year-old missed their 1-0 loss at Real Sociedad which halted Barca’s seven-match winning streak in all competitions before the international break.

Yamal has only missed two LaLiga matches since the start of last season, while Barcelona have lost both games this campaign in which he has not started, after coming off the bench in a 4-2 loss to Osasuna in September.

Flick said that his players need to show that they can win without their teenage sensation.

“Tomorrow I will put the question to the team, it will be a very good question for them [if they can win without Yamal],” Flick told a press conference on Friday.

“Against Real Sociedad, we didn’t play well, and it wasn’t because of Lamine’s absence. He is a very important player for us, but we have options to also play well without him.

“He won’t be able to play tomorrow, we don’t know when he will be able to go back from his injury, but what is clear for me is that we want him to be back only when he is 100% recovered.”

Yamal played a big role in Spain’s European Championship title win earlier this year in Germany, winning the best goal and the Young Player of the Tournament award in his breakthrough campaign.

84 – Players with most dribbles attempted in @LaLigaEN 2024/25:

84 – LAMINE YAMAL
82 – Vinícius Júnior
70 – Kylian Mbappé
65 – Nico Williams
63 – Alberto Moleiro

Instability. pic.twitter.com/U7wrKXgjMq

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) November 14, 2024

He continued to thrive this season with five goals and seven assists to help Barca to the top of the LaLiga standings on 33 points, six ahead of rivals Real Madrid, who have a game in hand in second place.

Yamal is also the only player across Europe’s big five leagues to complete 25+ dribbles (34), create 25+ chances (26), have 25+ shots (39), score 5+ goals (five) and provide 5+ assists (seven).

Flick suggested that he may have to adjust his system, as it is hard to replace a player with such a mixture of speed, technique and finishing.

“We might be a bit limited by the absence of Lamine,” Flick said.

“But we have a lot of players with great quality, and they can play in different positions. We’ll see what we’ll need and we’ll design the game plan.

“It’s always important after the international break to come back strong and with confidence. That’s our goal for tomorrow.”