Yamal’s return inspired Barca to a confident victory in Mallorca – Flick

Teenage sensation Lamine Yamal’s return to Barcelona’s starting XI after an injury layoff inspired the team to their 5-1 win over Mallorca, coach Hansi Flick said on Tuesday.

During Yamal’s four-week absence due to an ankle injury, league leaders Barcelona picked up just one point in three LaLiga games, allowing their chasing group Real Madrid to reduce the gap at the top to just one point.

Tuesday’s emphatic win in Mallorca finally ended the three-game winning streak and Flick was quick to point out the influence Yamal has on the team.

“Today (Yamal) was very important for us, he always does positive things for the team,” Flick told Movistar Plus.

“He could have scored one or two goals today, he played very well.”

“Of course I’m happy with the team performance. In the first half we had a lot of chances and scored goals, but they equalized on a counterattack, but we kept going. The entire team is happy with how things went this evening.”

Flick didn’t even need his star striker Robert Lewandowski to appear against Mallorca. The Polish striker, who is LaLiga’s top scorer with 15 goals, was given a day’s rest after starting all of Barcelona’s 20 previous games in all competitions.

Lewandowski’s replacement Ferran Torres took advantage of Mallorca’s sloppy defense and gave the visitors an early lead with a clever shot.

“Lewandowski needed a break, we had to take care of him,” said Flick.

“And Ferran (Torres) played a very good game and scored the first goal, which is also very important for him. Whenever we need him, he is always there. Today we didn’t have to play against Lewandowski.”

Barca lead the table with 37 points, four ahead of second-placed Real Madrid, who still have two games in hand. Atletico are third with 32 points and have a game in hand.