Barcelona's Yamal feels crowd's rage during Clasico for 'cheat' jibe

MADRID: Real Madrid’s fans were in no mood to forgive Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal during Sunday’s Clasico for his provocative remarks ahead of the game.

The 18-year-old Barca forward had suggested the capital club “cheat” and “complain” in a televised interview on Friday before the encounter at Santiago Bernabeu, which Real Madrid won 2-1.

Yamal made a nervy start, and a baying home crowd thought he had conceded a penalty when he slid in to tackle Vinicius Jr, but the decision to award a spot kick was overturned after a VAR review.

Yamal received a chorus of whistles and jeers every time he touched the ball and drew one of the loudest reactions of the night when Vinicius smashed a loose ball that cannoned into him.

Appearing to shrug off some of the nerves, he was involved in some early slick exchanges with his Barca teammates and attempted one of his trademark curlers from the right-hand edge of the box.

But left back Alvaro Carreras largely kept him in check after that and he became increasingly peripheral as the game went on and Madrid dominated.

During a skirmish at the end of the match, Madrid captain Dani Carvajal, who plays with Yamal for Spain, was seen telling the young winger that he talked too much.

Barcelona assistant manager Marcus Sorg admitted that the hostile atmosphere probably affected Barcelona’s star player.

“It’s possible. Perhaps a little. Because he’s learning to deal with the crowd, the booing… It’s a process. It’s true that he’s usually very motivated, and today wasn’t very easy for him,” Sorg said.

Earlier this month, Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong signed a new deal until 2029, the Spanish champions announced on Wednesday.

The 28-year-old Dutch international joined Barcelona from Ajax in 2019 and is in his seventh season with the Catalan giants, winning two La Liga titles and the Copa del Rey twice.