Barcelona star Lamine Yamal played through pain during Espanyol clash

Barcelona got back to winning ways against Espanyol on Saturday evening, putting the game to bed late on with goals from Lamine Yamal and Marcus Rashford. It did come as a surprise that more of Barcelona’s players did not rest ahead of their crucial second leg in the Champions League, as they look to turn around a two-goal deficit.

The Blaugrana made five changes between the games, but Lamine Yamal, Gerard Martin, Eric Garcia and Pedri Gonzalez all started with three of them playing the full match. Martin came off with pain in his ankle at half-time, but is expected to be fit to face Atletico. All four are expected to start on Tuesday night.

Marc Bernal can only play for a maximum of 20 minutes tomorrow against Atlético Madrid. [@xavimunyozMD] pic.twitter.com/URq0rjG4Ff

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) April 13, 2026

Lamine Yamal played through pain against Espanyol

According to Toni Juanmarti of the Siempre Positivo Podcast, Lamine Yamal was not at 100% before the Espanyol game. He explained on Monday that he had confirmed with sources the day before Barcelona faced Espanyol that he was experiencing pain. Despite the risk of injury, Lamine Yamal was keen to play, and subsequently put in a match-winning performance with a goal and an assist.

Barcelona doubts over midfield positions

Nevertheless, there appears to be little doubt that Lamine Yamal will be fit to face Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano. The 18-year-old is expected to be the spearhead of their comeback effort. Where there are more doubts is the supply chain to him.

Eric Garcia and Pedri Gonzalez started against both Atletico and Espanyol, and that may be the case again. Yet with Pau Cubarsi suspended, Hansi Flick may be tempted to drop Garcia back to central defence. That would also mean one of Frenkie de Jong or Marc Bernal, who are both coming back from injury, partnering Pedri, or Marc Casado startin. The latter has generally been out of favour for Flick this season though.

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