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Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez has saluted Lamine Yamal after their team's 3-1 LaLiga away win against Deportivo Alaves on Saturday (February 3).
The Blaugrana outfit secured a convincing win with Robert Lewandowski (22'), Ilkay Gundogan (49'), and Vitor Roque (63') scoring for Xavi's side. Roque, however, was sent off in the 72nd minute of the game.
Yamal, 16, started the game in the attack for Barca and played the full 90 minutes. Xavi showered praise on the young attacker following the game, telling the media (via @BarcaUniversal on X):
"Lamine Yamal has it all. There are a few players like him."
Yamal had a jubilant display, contributing at both ends of the pitch during the clash against Alaves. He completed 24 accurate passes with a 77% success rate, including one long ball, and also won nine ground duels for his team.
Barcelona, meanwhile, are now third in the league table following the win against Alaves. They have 50 points from 23 matches and trail league leaders Real Madrid, who have a game in hand, by seven points.
Deco says Barcelona are surprised by Xavi Hernandez's decision to leave
Xavi Hernandez recently made a surprise announcement, confirming that he will be leaving the manager's post at the end of the 2023-24 season.
Deco has now revealed that the announcement has come as a surprise to the club and that Barca were counting on the Spaniard to be at the helm next season. He said (via Football Espana):
“This is not the time to talk about the coach, Xavi has taken us by surprise. We were counting on Xavi for next year.”
Xavi took charge of Barcelona in the middle of the 2021-22 season. During the 2022-23 season, his first full season as the coach, Xavi helped the Catalan giants win the LaLiga title and the Supercopa de Espana.
This season, however, the Catalan club have been inconsistent. Apart from trailing Real Madrid by a considerable margin in the league, they were eliminated from the Copa del Rey by Athletic Club in the quarterfinals last month (2-4 A.E.T). Barcelona also lost the Supercopa de Espana final to Real Madrid by a 4-1 scoreline.
