Flick Commends Lamine Yamal's Resilience After Ballon d'Or Snub

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick stated on Friday that Lamine Yamal has "reacted very well" to the disappointment of Harry Kane being awarded the Ballon d'Or. Despite winning La Liga with Barcelona and the World Cup with Spain, the 19-year-old winger secured third place in the vote for the world's best player, behind Kane and Kylian Mbappe.

"Harry Kane deserved it, but you already know what I think about Lamine. He’s at the level required to win this award," Flick commented ahead of Barcelona's home match against Alaves. "I’m very proud of Lamine. He reacted very well and was very focused in training. That’s the way to respond. His mentality is very good for the team."

Yamal will have an opportunity to move past any lingering disappointment on Saturday when Barcelona aims to rebound at home against Alaves after two significant defeats. Following an initial streak of 11 consecutive wins across all competitions, Barcelona experienced a downturn, losing to PSG in the Champions League last Tuesday and then suffering a 2-1 home defeat to Real Madrid in La Liga last weekend, with Mbappe being instrumental in the latter match.

"The most important thing tomorrow is to win," Flick emphasized. "The team is playing well and we believe in our strengths. I’ve seen a good training session and a positive mood. We have to show that tomorrow. Alaves are a team that know how to defend well, but we’re Barca and we want to show our best version."

Barcelona maintains a two-point lead at the top of La Liga before their encounter with Atletico Madrid. Flick acknowledged that while he dislikes losing, the current campaign is "a long road." He added, "It’s at the end of the season that we can win trophies. We have to deal with it. We could have won, but we have to accept defeat and learn from it."