Rafinha Alcantara called out Lamine Yamal's "lack of maturity" following Barcelona's 2-1 loss to Real Madrid. Yamal was involved in a war of words with Madrid pair Vinicius Junior and Dani Carvajal in the heated El Clasico encounter at the Bernabeu. Ex-Barca star Rafinha pointed the finger of blame at Yamal for the defeat, claiming he gave Los Blancos "extra motivation" with his comments in the build-up to the game.
AFPReal torment Yamal at the Bernabeu
Goals from Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham saw Real Madrid secure a huge 2-1 win over Barcelona on Sunday afternoon. Mbappe even saw a second half penalty saved by Wojciech Szczesny as Los Blancos went five points clear of the defending La Liga champions at the top of the table.
Tempers flared after Pedri received his marching orders for a foul on Aurelien Tchouameni deep into second-half injury time, having been booked in the first half. There were a number of confrontations between Real Madrid and Barcelona players after the match, with Vinicius Junior, Dani Carvajal and Thibaut Courtois all seen remonstrating with Yamal.
The Barcelona wonderkid riled the Madrid squad with his ill-advised pre-match comments. "Yes, of course, they steal, they complain…" Yamal said when talking about Real Madrid on Twitch. The comments also didn't sit well with former Barcelona star Rafinha, who called out the teenager after full-time.
Advertisement'His words gave extra motivation to Madrid'
Speaking with DAZN, Rafinha blamed Yamal for giving Real Madrid added fuel to go out and secure all the spoils in front of their fans. "He sinned through youth and a lack of maturity in saying what he said. His words gave extra motivation to Madrid," Rafinha said.
Former Real Madrid midfielder Guti echoed the Brazilian's sentiments, adding: "Lamine Yamal is too young to know the history of Real Madrid and Barça. I too would have called him out on his words."
Yamal struggled in the game at the Bernabeu as he failed to directly contribute to a Barcelona goal, with Fermin Lopez on hand to score the Blaugrana's first-half equaliser. The Spain attacker has only scored twice in La Liga this season, but injuries have played a major role in his reduced output in the final third.
Getty Images SportDe Jong and Araujo defend Yamal
Barcelona midfielder Frenkie De Jong defended the teenager after the 2-1 loss. Yamal was roundly booed whenever he touched the ball as the home support voiced their disdain for the Spanish winger for his pre-match comments.
"When the referee blew for full time, several Madrid players went straight for Lamine. It was over the top," the Dutch midfielder said in the mixed zone after the match.
De Jong also called out Carvajal for his heated exchange with the 18-year-old, adding: "If Carvajal wanted to talk to him, he could’ve done it privately. Making gestures on the pitch just fuels the fire. Lamine never said Madrid cheats, I never heard that."
Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo also threw his backing behind his team-mate, adding: "He’s a great professional; he knows what he’s doing."
On the result itself, the Uruguayan, who scored a late winner against Girona last week, said: "We’re sad, but we move on. There’s a long season ahead, and we trust the work we’re doing."
'It gave us a little boost'
Real Madrid midfielder Tchouameni has backed up Rafinha's theory that Yamal's pre-match comments did give Xabi Alonso's side an extra boost. The Frenchman was on the receiving end of a nasty Pedri tackle in the dying embers of a heated Clasico affair, with the former Monaco man admitting that Yamal's words gave Los Blancos an extra spark.
"It gave us a little boost. There’s no bad blood, but those things light you up," Tchouameni said after Real Madrid's 2-1 win.
Real Madrid will be confident about extending their unbeaten home start to the season to six games when they host a Valencia side winless in five next weekend.