"Worst performance in a Barca shirt" - Barcelona fans unhappy with superstar's 'terrible' showing despite 1-0 win over Mallorca
Barcelona supporters were disappointed with Ilkay Gundogan's performance despite the Blaugrana's 1-0 win over RCD Mallorca on Friday.
Barca moved up to second position in the league after the win, thanks to Lamine Yamal's spectacular late goal to claim all three points. This was the 16-year-old's sixth goal across competitions this season as he continues to impress for the Catalans.
Yamal's goal also spared Gundogan's blushes, as the German missed a number of opportunities to open the scoring, including a penalty. The former Manchester City midfielder had four shots at goal in the game without scoring. One of the highlights of the first hald was his penalty being saved by Mallorca's Serbian shotstopper Predrag Rajkovic.
Barcelona had other opportunities during the game, as Joao Felix and Yamal missed chances to score as well. The 16-year-old also struck the crossbar, although his hunt for a goal came through with a magnificent left-footed effort into the top corner.
Barcelona's victory brings them to within five points of league leaders Real Madrid, who have a game in hand. While fans were happy with the win, they expected much better play from important players like Gundogan.
A number of fans took to social media to slam his performance, with one writing on X:
"Ngl this might have been Gundogan’s worst performance in a Barca shirt."
Another added:
"if we’re being honest, Gundogan has been terrible"
Here is a selection of their posts:
Xavi cautious about Lamine Yamal comparison with Lionel Messi after Barcelona win
Lamine Yamal's amazing goal in their encounter versus Mallorca captured the attention of the entire crowd. Reminiscent of a technique frequently seen from Lionel Messi, he deftly shifted the ball to his left foot and scored by hitting the far corner of the net.
After he scored that incredible goal, similarities between Yamal and Messi began to spread. Xavi has chosen to proceed cautiously with these analogies, though. Following the victory, he told the media (via GOAL):
"Anyone will lose when compared to Messi. We're talking about the best player in the history of this sport, he should not be compared to others. Today he wasn't so good in the one-on-ones and he wasn't having his best day, but he cut the ball back and scored a great goal. Therefore he made the difference again with a goal that he invented."
Yamal has established himself as a key member of Barcelona thus far. He has participated in 37 games this season in all competitions, with seven assists and six goals.