"And now, do you know me?" That was Lamine Yamal’s reply after Barcelona’s 4-1 win at Galatasaray, and it landed with two assists and the UEFA man of the match award at Ali Sami Yen Stadium. He also handed the award to his girlfriend, Inés García, on the pitch.
Lemina’s remark and Yamal’s reply
The exchange began in August 2025, when Mario Lemina said: "Who is Lamine Yamal? I don't know him. I know Sané". Yamal took the return fixture personally enough to make the response obvious on the pitch, then repeated the joke online afterwards.
The football was the part that mattered. One of his assists came from what he later described as the "almost rabona", a piece of improvisation that helped turn the night his way. Barcelona won 4-1 and stretched their run to 10 consecutive victories this season.
Yamal’s Champions League milestone
Beyond the exchange with Lemina, the evening also added another marker to Yamal’s Champions League record. Against Galatasaray, he became the youngest player to reach 25 combined goals and assists in the competition at 19 years and 3 months.
That is the part that keeps lifting his performances above a one-off reaction. Even when the storyline starts with a slight, Yamal still turns it into output, and on this evidence Spain already have a winger whose end product travels with the noise.
He leaves Istanbul with two assists, a man of the match award and another number for the record books, while Barcelona move on after a 4-1 win.
Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →
