Barcelona’s Champions League quarterfinal drama is building in a familiar, pressure-heavy way: a 2-0 hole from the first leg, a packed second act at Atletico Madrid’s expense, and one young star trying to make belief feel like strategy.
For Lamine Yamal, the inspiration isn’t just coming from the pitch. He’s been looking to LeBron James—and yes, you can actually see it. Yamal changed his Instagram profile image to a photo of James embracing the NBA trophy following the Cleveland Cavaliers’ win over the Golden State Warriors in 2016. It matters because Yamal wants that kind of turnaround energy, the “we were behind, now we’re not” feeling.
“He’s one of the figures who can inspire me for this match,” the 18-year-old said in a news conference on Monday. “I’ll think about how he did it and hopefully it works out the same for me.” That’s the vibe he’s taking into Tuesday’s visit to Atletico—Barcelona needs to reverse last week’s loss at home, and it has to start fast. Actually, it has to start right, because Atletico won’t be standing still.
Yamal’s other reference point is Neymar, the player who led Barcelona to the historic comeback over Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 of the 2017 Champions League. Barcelona won the second leg 6-1 at home after losing 4-0 in France. Yamal says he’s watched that match “several times” and even caught it live once, which tells you he’s not treating this like an abstract story. He’s trying to borrow the blueprint. “Neymar is a player who was very important for me during my childhood. He’s my idol and I’ll always be grateful to him for everything he’s given to soccer,” Yamal said.
The hope, though, spreads beyond history. Yamal said he hoped the 34-year-old Neymar would get in Brazil’s World Cup squad. Neymar is playing for Brazilian club Santos and was not included by coach Carlo Ancelotti in the most recent Brazil squad for warmup matches. “He inspires everyone,” Yamal added, speaking like someone who’s been watching football more intensely than most people at his age. “He’s the type of player that you’ll pay a ticket to watch him play… Hopefully he will be at the World Cup.”
On the other side of the storyline, Atletico’s potential boost might come from the goalkeeper position. Jan Oblak could return to the starting lineup after being sidelined for more than a month because of a muscle injury. Atletico is hoping to reach the semifinals for the first time since 2017, and coach Diego Simeone didn’t rule out Oblak even though he hasn’t played since March 10 in the 5-2 win over Tottenham in the round of 16. Oblak has been practicing with the squad for the last few days and is reportedly fit to start, though Simeone said he still hasn’t told the players who will start—and he won’t likely announce it until closer to game time on Tuesday.
If Oblak doesn’t go, Argentina goalkeeper Juan Musso has been his replacement, conceding 10 goals in six matches as a starter, including two in Atletico’s 2-1 loss at Sevilla in La Liga on Saturday. Either way, the math is brutal for Atletico: whoever starts will have to face a prolific Barcelona attack that includes Yamal, Ferran Torres, Robert Lewandowski and Marcus Rashford. Raphinha will be absent for Barcelona because of a hamstring injury. Meanwhile, this will be the fifth match between Atletico and Barcelona in less than two months—they’ve split the other four in the league, La Liga and the Copa del Rey. Simeone kept it simple: “We are convinced of what we need, and we’ll play the game we need to.”
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick, meanwhile, is leaning hard on confidence. “I believe in my team and I think we can do it. It’s possible,” he said, adding that the difference in the first leg was Barcelona needing to take their chances against a strong Atlético side with great players. Flick didn’t rule out midfielder Frenkie de Jong making his first start after a long absence because of a hamstring injury. And if Barcelona advance, the semifinal opponent will be either Arsenal or Sporting Lisbon—Arsenal won the first leg 1-0 in Lisbon last week, and their second leg in England is on Wednesday.
In the corridor outside the dressing rooms—someone’s coffee smell still hanging in the air, that slightly bitter edge—people are already talking about comebacks like they’re weather. But the real question is whether Barcelona can turn Yamal’s idols into goals, because Atletico’s defense doesn’t care how inspiring your profile photo is, not even if it’s LeBron holding a trophy.
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