Barcelona enjoyed a dream start to the 2026–27 season despite an anonymous performance from Lamine Yamal, one that has many questioning what’s going on with the struggling superstar.
Hansi Flick’s side had no trouble dismantling Elche to the tune of a 5–0 opening day victory. Fermín López and Raphinha bagged braces and summer signings Karim Adeyemi and Anthony Gordon combined for a goal and two assists. Yamal, meanwhile, was hooked at the hour-mark without a goal contribution.
Beyond the subpar performance by his lofty standards, the lasting memory of Yamal’s outing was the dejected and frustrated body language he portrayed for much of the night, especially when cameras spotted him on the bench completely crestfallen after his substitution, almost on the verge of tears.
The usually upbeat, smiling and overly joyful attacker looked anything but during his first showing of the season, and his level on the pitch was far from the one that’s prompted many to already consider him as the best player in the world. But what’s wrong?
Yamal Yet to Recover Peak Level Following Hamstring Injury
Yamal enjoyed his most productive season for Barcelona in 2025–26, but his stellar performances went beyond goals and assists, routinely creating moments of magic that firmly placed him in Ballon d’Or contention.
Then came a hamstring tear suffered against Celta Vigo, which ended his season on April 22. Barcelona were still able to cruise to the La Liga title and Yamal recovered in time to feature for Spain in its 2026 World Cup title run. But he hasn’t been the same player since.
The lasting impact of the hamstring tear is unknown, but Yamal hasn’t rediscovered his pre-injury form. Spain was able to conquer its second world title despite the teenager scoring just once and collecting no assists during La Roja’s glorious eight-game journey.
Lamine Yamal’s Stats in Last Nine Official Games Before and After Injury
Statistic | Before Injury | After Injury |
|---|---|---|
Goals | 5 | 1 |
Assists | 3 | 0 |
Attempted Dribbles | 60 | 49 |
Successful Dribbles | 37 | 28 |
Chances Created | 18 | 8 |
It’s not the first time Yamal has been forced to deal with a significant muscular injury, having battled with Pubalgia during the infancy of the 2025–26 season, which compromised him well into the winter.
Although it’s true it took Yamal some time to return to form after his Pubalgia, it didn’t take as long as it’s taking him now, and perhaps more importantly, it didn’t alter his playing style. Now, seemingly for the first time in his career, the characteristically fearless Yamal looks hesitant, shying away from taking people on with his superb dribbling skills and often erratic in both his decision-making and final pass or shot.
Yamal is clearly fit enough to play, but he’s also clearly not recovered the confidence that’s defined his brilliance since he burst onto the scene. It could be a matter of time before he gets in a groove and returns to his best, but it was jarring to see him complete just one of two attempted dribbles against Elche when he completed nine of 16 attempted dribbles the last time he played a full game with Barça.
The teenager also created just one chance on Sunday, meanwhile he created eight the last time he took the pitch at the Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero earlier in the year.
Issues Off The Pitch
In recent days, reports from Spain have suggested that Yamal hasn’t been overly impressed with Barcelona’s dealings during the summer transfer window, particularly when it comes to departures.
Multiple outlets reported Yamal isn’t overly pleased with Barcelona’s quest to try and offload three of his closest friends in the squad, players the teenager has been close with since his academy days. Héctor Fort is on his way to Real Sociedad and Marc Casadó has been seriously linked with a move elsewhere all summer, and he wasn’t part of Barça’s squad against Elche.
Then came Flick’s decision to discard Alejandro Balde from the squad against Elche and publicly questioning the fullbacks’s commitment to Barça amid growing transfer links.
There’s no confirmation that these situations have impacted Yamal’s mood, but it’s a situation worth monitoring in the final week of the window. The star player’s dejected mood might simply be a result of his unimpressive run of performances, but Flick was supportive of his talisman and offered another explanation as to what might be happening.
Flick Backs Yamal, Explains Season Debut Struggles
Flick was asked about Yamal’s shy showing against Elche and the viral images of him sulking on the bench after his substitution. The German boss addressed the situation and fully backed his player while revealing he played through illness symptoms.
“He had a little problem. He had some headaches the day after,” Flick confessed. “But at the end, Lamine is a genius, we all know that. It’s normal, he had three weeks of holidays and now he worked or trained only a few days.
“So he could not be on his top level, this is normal. So we have to find also the solution, step by step, that he comes back on his best level. But I’m very, very thankful because he played 60 minutes and also the first two goals he was totally involved in the situations.
“He was very helpful for the game,” Flick added. “And he’s doing good, so he goes day by day, we have to see how’s the game tomorrow. But we accept him, we need him because he is outstanding and we need him.”
Barcelona will face Athletic Club on Thursday night in the 2026–27 home opener at the Camp Nou. There, Yamal will try to break out of his slump with a vintage performance that truly gets his season underway.
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