Lamine Yamal responded in his own way to Mario Lemina after leading Barcelona to a 4-1 victory over Galatasaray in Istanbul, settling for a photo and a brief caption that brought previous comments from the Gabonese midfielder back into the spotlight.
On Wednesday, the Barcelona star shared a gallery of photos from the match on his Instagram account, headlined by an image of him holding the Man of the Match award, captioned: “Does he know me now?” alongside a ghost emoji.
The story dates back to last year, when Lemina was asked to choose between Lamine Yamal and his teammate Leroy Sané, jokingly replying: “Who is Lamine Yamal? I don’t know him, I only know Sané.”
As the quote resurfaced ahead of the Barcelona clash, Lemina clarified: “It was a joke just for fun, and that’s part of the game. There was no disrespect intended, and now it’s showtime.”
Yamal delivered his strongest answer on the pitch: in the 50th minute, he set up Fermín López for the lead with a pinpoint cross, before assisting Anthony Gordon for the third goal just three minutes later following a dribble he described as a “semi-rabona.”
While he was not credited with a direct assist for the fourth goal, Yamal initiated the move with a pass to Gabriel Jesus before Karim Adeyemi capitalized on a loose touch to strike home and seal the win. Yamal also created 6 chances during the match, more than any other player on the pitch.
Galatasaray had initially taken the lead through Aleksei Batrakov before João Cancelo equalized just before halftime, setting up a second-half attacking masterclass from Barcelona with goals from Fermín, Gordon, and Adeyemi.
Yamal’s post drew immediate reactions from his teammates; Raphinha and Fermín commented, “I think he knows you now,” while Gordon described the performance as “amazing.” Yamal thus capped off a night that began with verbal sparrings with Lemina and ended with him wearing the captain’s armband and taking home the Player of the Match award.
