Yamal admits he had ‘nerves’ before first Clásico

Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal has said he had some nerves before making his first Clásico appearance against Real Madrid last season ahead of this weekend’s showdown between LaLiga’s top two (live on ESPN+ at 3 p.m. ET).

Yamal, who was still 16 at the time, came off the bench in the 76th minute at the Olympic Stadium as Barça were beaten 2-1 by Madrid last October.

The 17-year-old’s rise to the top of the game for club and country over the last year has been marked by his cool-headedness, but he said there was some tension when it came to facing Los Blancos for the first time.

“I have never been nervous in a game to be honest, but when I came on for my Clásico debut, there were some nerves,” he told LaLiga World ahead of Saturday’s match at the Bernabéu.

“I saw the faces of the opponents and how good they were. And just as I was coming on, there were a few nerves, but when I got on that was it, I forgot about everything. I played and I enjoyed it.

“You see the quality there is in these matches. In the end, they are decided by the small details. Clásicos are always special. It is the Clásico and we all want to win it.”

Yamal’s career has gone from strength to strength since then. He helped Spain win the European Championship in the summer and has already made over 60 appearances for Barça’s first team.

During that time he has broken various records for precocity, becoming the youngest goal scorer for Barça and Spain, while also breaking several appearance and goal-scoring records at the Euros.

“I don’t usually think about it much, but now that I am saying it, yes, there are many things that make you very happy and I hope there are more to come,” he added of all his records.

As a result of his performances, his public profile in Spain has soared, with his No.19 Barcelona shirt one of the club’s biggest sellers.

“I was already more or less aware of it when I made my debut, but this summer was the boom I think because now you go to the airport and you see people wearing my shirt,” he said.

“You go around Barcelona and there are a lot of people [wearing my shirt]. My mum tells me that when she takes my brother to school, they are at the bus stop with the typical posters and I am on them. I am living a dream.”

Yamal’s next challenge is to leave his mark on the Clásico, where he is expected to come up against Madrid left-back Ferland Mendy as Barça look to increase their three-point lead at the top of the table.

He leads LaLiga in attempted take ons this season with 82 — 10 more than the second-ranked Vinícius Júnior — and will look to grow that number by running at Mendy this weekend.

“This year, when I receive the ball, I feel the crowd start to shout and that really motivates me,” he said.

“I just look at the full-back and I go for him with everything. It’s a feeling I have never had before. It’s as if my mum’s in front of me telling me to go at the opponent. I can’t describe the feeling, but it’s incredible.

“I do whatever I feel is right in the moment. In the end, I go up against my marker and it’s like my legs do things on their own sometimes. I don’t think about what I am going to do.”