Online Reporter
BARCELONA manager Hansi Flick said he was happy to see Lamine Yamal back in form but cautioned that he must continue to manage his groin injury after the teenager inspired a 3-3 Champions League football draw with Club Brugge on Wednesday night.
After weeks with a lingering groin injury, the 18-year-old built on Sunday’s LaLiga form, which brought his first league goal since August, with another lively display in Belgium as Barca equalised three times to earn a point.
Nicolo Tresoldi and Ferran Torres traded early goals but Carlos Forbs restored the hosts’ lead before the break. Yamal levelled a minute after the hour mark with a composed finish following a superb defence-splitting run.
“I’m happy that Lamine is back at this level. (But) we don’t know what will happen tomorrow or next Sunday. The important thing is that he manages his situation, because it’s not easy,” the German said.
“He has to be really focused on how he has to train, and also on the treatments and hopefully it (the pain) goes away.”
Receiving a pass outside the penalty area, Yamal surged through two defenders, laid the ball off to Fermin Lopez and continued his run, collecting Lopez’s deft back-heel pass before slotting in from close range.
“I try to do the best I can. The move went really quick and Fermin’s left me with the ball with a nice flick and I finished it,” Yamal said after the game.
However, Brugge winger Forbs put the hosts ahead again in the 63rd minute, and later Yamal’s other effort diverted in off Christos Tzolis to seal a 3-3 draw through an own goal.
Yamal added that speculation surrounding his groin injury, and suggestions it had affected his state of mind, had been overblown and fuelled by false reports.
“A lot has been said about my pubalgia, that I was sad, but it was all lies.
“I’ve been the same as always, very happy, focused on my work, trying to get back to training and play at this level, which is where I feel best and enjoy myself the most,” he said.
Yamal’s goal drew comparisons with Barcelona great Lionel Messi, but the Spain international said he was not getting carried away with the praise.
“Messi has scored thousands of goals like that.
“I have to make my own way and hope to score many more goals like that,” he added.
Osimhen grabs hat-trick
Galatasary’s Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen scored a second-half hat-trick to ensure a comfortable 3-0 away win over Ajax Amsterdam.
Two of the three goals came from the penalty spot as the Nigerian international took his competition total this season to six with the Turkish club moving up from 16th to ninth place in the standings with nine points from four games.
Ajax, who have been European champions four times, remain rooted at the bottom of the 36-team table without a point.
Osimhen stooped to head home Leroy Sane’s cross in the 59th minute to open the scoring and then tucked away a 66th-minute penalty after a clumsy handball by defender Youri Baas.
Ajax gave away a second spot-kick when Gerald Alders, on his European debut, inadvertently handled the ball in the box while trying to block a shot, with Osimhen stroking home the resultant penalty in the 78th minute.
Ajax came closest to a goal after an error from Galatasaray goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir allowed Mika Godts a shot at an empty net but he missed out on the opportunity.
Haaland haunts Dortmund
In other matches, Erling Haaland came back to haunt Borussia Dortmund with a clinical finish against his former team, while Phil Foden bagged a brilliant brace as Manchester City cruised to a 4-1 victory to climb to fourth on the table.
Pep Guardiola’s men have 10 points after four of the eight league-phase games, while Dortmund fell to 14th on seven points.
City were dominant from the outset and England international Foden opened the scoring in the 22nd minute when he collected a pass from Tijjani Reijnders and finished with a crisp left-footed strike from just outside the box and past goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.
Haaland, who has 27 goals in 17 games for club and country, doubled the lead seven minutes later, finishing coolly from the centre of the box after a blistering run and assist from Jeremy Doku.
Foden completed his double in the 57th minute in almost identical fashion to his first, latching on to a pass from Reijnders before bending a curling shot just inside the far post.
Waldemar Anton pulled one back for the Bundesliga club from a free-kick in the 72nd minute to the delight of Dortmund’s famous “yellow wall” of travelling supporters, but Rayan Cherki put the game well out of reach with a goal in injury-time.
Meanwhile, Alejandro Garnacho ensured Chelsea returned from Azerbaijan with a point as he came off the bench to equalise in their 2-2 draw away to Qarabag.
The former Manchester United forward fired a sweetly-struck left-foot effort into the net after 53 minutes of an enthralling contest which had slipped from Chelsea’s grasp.
Brazilian teenager Estevao put the visitors ahead with a neat finish in the 16th minute but after a slow start Qarabag came alive in the Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium.
Leandro Andrade steered home a rebound in the 29th minute to cancel out Chelsea’s lead after Camilo Duran had shrugged off Jorrel Hato and cut in to send a shot against the upright.
Things went from bad to worse for the London side before half-time as Marko Jankovic converted a penalty awarded for a handball by the inexperienced Hato.
Halfway through the 36-team group phase, Chelsea have seven points the same as Qarabag, who lost to Chelsea by an aggregate of 10-0 in the Champions League in 2017-18.
Elsewhere on Wednesday night, Newcastle secured a third successive Champions League win as Dan Burn’s thunderous header inspired a cathartic 2-0 victory against Athletic Bilbao.
Burn struck in eye-catching style in the first half at St James’ Park and Joelinton netted after the interval to wrap up Newcastle’s fifth successive home win in all competitions.
Newcastle’s dismal 3-1 defeat at lowly West Ham on Sunday left the Magpies languishing in 13th place in the Premier League and prompted a painful bout of soul-searching on Tyneside. – AFP Sport
