Connect with us

SportsNews

We’re delighted to announce that Lamine Yamal now owns the Santiago Bernabeu

Published

on

Yamal-finger-point © PA Images

Just days on from thrashing Bayern Munich while barely breaking a sweat, Hansi Flick’s La Masia kids have run riot once again.

Speaking in David vs Goliath terms when discussing Barcelona against Real Madrid would typically be a rather outrageous stance to analyse a game from, but given the gap that has formed between the two in recent years, it’s actually pretty spot on.

Especially when you consider that this was an (almost) all-conquering Real side boosted by the signing of Kylian Mbappe hosting a fragile Barcelona side with no less than six young La Masia graduates in the starting XI.

When one of those graduates is Lamine Yamal, though, you needn’t worry. The kid is an absolute superstar.

The story that stole the headlines was a breathtaking Barcelona performance with Flick’s masterplan being an incredibly well-choreographed high line, which allowed Barcelona to frustrate their rivals before using press resistance and slick passing to decimate them in transition.

Raphinha’s performance was breathtaking and once again Marc Casado stood out in midfield, but it’s impossible to look past Yamal, who made it 3-0 in the 77th minute with a record-breaking finish.

Extraordinary as ever from the teenage freak, he needed only two touches to kill the game. One to take in a brilliant pass from Raphinha, and the second to fire the ball into the roof of the net beyond a helpless Andriy Lunin.

Seriously Andriy, thanks for coming, but don’t bother next time. Kid’s a complete anomaly.

READ NEXT: The 10 top scorers in El Clasico history for Barcelona & Real Madrid: Messi, Ronaldo…

TRY A QUIZ: The ultimate El Clasico quiz: 30 tough questions on Real Madrid & Barcelona’s red-hot rivalry

Yamal became the youngest goalscorer in the history of El Clasico with the goal and made it 3-0 on the night, but what we loved most was the newfound attitude after scoring.

While normally we’d expect a young player’s fearlessness to come out in how they play, the 17-year-old took it a step further and was sure to tip the Bernabeu to boiling point with his celebrations.

After smashing in the misery compiler in an eventual 4-0 thrashing, he ran to the corner flag mimicking Cristiano Ronaldo’s iconic ‘calma’ celebration, before cheekily breaking out into dance – the same dance Vinicius Junior usually pulls out after scoring.

As if being extraordinarily good at football at such a young age wasn’t enough, he’s now developed the sh*thouse gene too. You love to see it.

You have to go back to 2022 to find the last time La Blaugrana rocked up to the Santiago Bernabeu and beat Los Blancos in a league contest.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a brace and Sergio Busquets was patrolling the midfield in a 4-0 win, which tells you everything you need to know about the journey Barça have been on in the time since.

Even then, though, that felt cheap. Their capture of the 2022-23 La Liga title under Xavi papered over cracks and concealed the fact that they were still activating more economic levers than we’ve had hot dinners here at Planet Football.

So when Xavi was dismissed, a hard reset was needed once again. Flick has provided that in the most perfect way, tapping into exactly what makes Barcelona so special in the first place.

Winning is one thing, but winning in style, fuelled by La Masia, is another feeling entirely.

Yamal is central to restoring that feeling and firing them back to the top – even if he’s so young that he’s changing the colour of his braces to red and blue to mark the big occasion.

Sickening. We never stood a chance of making it pro, did we?

Barcelona now sit pretty atop of La Liga with 10 wins out of 11 and have already pulled a six-point gap on their El Clasico rivals with that huge away victory.

The Flick revolution is just beginning and Yamal is just warming up – wait until he learns the shush celebration.

By Mitch Wilks

SportsNews

Nigeria out as FIFA confirms DR Congo spot in 2026 World Cup

Published

on

FIFA announced the final line-up for the inter-confederation play-off event on Wednesday, with DR Congo representing Africa, crushing Nigeria’s chances of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

 

In an accreditation notice circulated to journalists ahead of the competition, FIFA detailed the tournament format and listed the six participating nations. DR Congo’s inclusion leaves no room for Nigeria, whose football federation had challenged their defeat in the CAF play-offs in November 2025.

 

The Nigeria Football Federation submitted an official protest, claiming that the DR Congo national football team used ineligible players in the crucial match, which finished 1-1 before Nigeria were defeated in the penalty shootout. The appeal had aimed to have the outcome overturned and secure Nigeria a spot in the inter-continental play-offs.

However, FIFA’s latest communication does not refer to any changes to the qualified teams, signaling that the original result will stand and confirming Nigeria’s elimination.

Confming the development in a statement, FIFA said, “The FIFA World Cup 2026 Play-Off Tournament will see six teams fight it out for the final two places at the FIFA World Cup 2026™, to be staged in Canada, Mexico and the United States across 16 Host Cities.”

“All of the six teams have now been decided, with Bolivia, Congo DR, Iraq, Jamaica, New Caledonia, and Suriname confirmed as qualifiers.”

The play-off tournament gets underway on March 26.

Continue Reading

SportsNews

Footballer Derrikson Quiros announces break-up with girlfriend three days after pitch proposal.

Published

on

 

Costa Rica footballer Derrikson Quiros has broken up with his fiancée just three days after he proposed to her on the pitch as football lovers watched.

The Xelaju player, who recently played in a National League Clausura match, chose to propose to his girlfriend, Wendy, after the match ended.

He went down on one knee to propose, and she accepted, after which they shared a kiss.

However, only three days after their public engagement, Quiros announced that he had split with his girlfriend.

“Yes, it is true that my relationship has ended,” he wrote on his Instagram Stories. “It was a difficult personal situation, like any breakup, but I prefer to handle it with respect and maturity.”

The Costa Rican footballer didn’t specify what caused this shocking turn of events.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DVJcG9XDAu7/?igsh=YTR6NHlneWt2NmFu

Continue Reading

SportsNews

US rapper NBA Youngboy announces birth of his 13th child, 3rd with wife Jazlyn Mychelle

Published

on

 

American rapper, NBA Youngboy, has once again expanded his already large family.

The 26-year-old chart-topping artist and his wife Jazlyn Mychelle, on Sunday, Febuary 22, welcomed their third child together, marking his 13th child overall.

The excited father confirmed the news himself in an emotional and candid Instagram post, featuring footage from the delivery room.

In the clip, YoungBoy joyfully announced the arrival of the couple’s newest baby girl, playfully referring to his wife as his “gangsta” after giving birth to their child.

The newborn joins a household that already includes YoungBoy and Jazlyn’s son and daughter from their marriage, as well as 10 other children the rapper has from previous relationships.

Continue Reading

Trending