Revenge, very cold, total revenge. That was what Yamal did to Rabiot. Never before on the eve of a semi-final, a statement was as ill-timed as that of Adrien Rabiot. The self-assured and somewhat haughty France midfielder appeared before the media in the press room of the Munich Football Arena to make a provocative comment that inflamed Yamine Lamal on the pitch and that was the beginning of the end for the team managed by Didier Deschamps.
“Lamine has shown that he is a player who can cope well with stress, he has many qualities. He can play for his club and in a big tournament like this. He has a cool head, but it can be a bit difficult to play a semi-final like this in a big tournament like this. It’s going to be a matter of putting pressure on him. We want to get him out of his comfort zone. If he wants to play in a final, he’ll have to show more than he has done,” he said.
That challenge of Rabiotwhich invited the Barcelona player to climb another step in his climb to the German footballing heaven, was his verdict. He had to eat his words, to which the skilled Spanish winger already responded with a late-night message the day before the match. On his social networks he posted an enigmatic sentence although apparently dedicated to Rabiot: “Move silently and speak only to checkmate”.
His checkered letter was a silent cry for respect. Lamine Yamal was simply going to speak on the pitch. While he waited for his turn, the time of the match, the D-day, the H-hour, not a word. Silence prevailed over the noise and mouths closed in the face of the chatter. And it didn’t take long for Yamine to start the exhibition with which he was crowned in the Munich Football Arenabecause a few minutes later he threw one of his measured bananas at the head of Fabián Ruiz, who did not hit the target. Maignan by a few centimeters. But the best thing was the goal that came next.
And at the end of the match, with the victory, he remembered Rabiot. “Speak now, speak now,” Lamine Yamal told the camera.
“I’m very happy to have made it to the final. The most important thing is to take the title,” he said afterwards. Yamal, voted man of the match
Yamal scored the equalizing goal.We were in difficult times“Because they had scored their goal so early in the end, I didn’t think about it, I just tried to put it where it went and I was very happy. I try not to think too much, enjoy it and win. Above all, win, win and win. That’s what we have in mind,” he added.