Yamal seeks inspiration from LeBron, Neymar for Champions League comeback

Lamine Yamal is looking to LeBron James for some inspiration as he tries to lead Barcelona to a Champions League comeback.

Barcelona visit Spanish rivals Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, needing to reverse a 2-0 loss from the first leg of the quarterfinals at home last week.

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. Cleveland trailed 3-1 in that series before winning the title.

“He’s one of the figures who can inspire me for this match,” the 18-year-old Yamal said in a news conference on Monday. “I’ll think about how he did it, and hopefully it works out the same for me.”

Yamal also talked about another one of his idols, Neymar, 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.

“I’ve watched [the 6-1 match] several times, and I watched it live as well,” Yamal said. “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 football.”

Yamal said he hoped the 34-year-old Neymar would get in Brazil’s World Cup squad. The striker is playing for Brazilian club Santos and was not included by coach Carlo Ancelotti in the most recent Brazil squad for warm-up matches.

“He inspires everyone,” Yamal said of Neymar. “He’s the type of player that you’ll pay a ticket to watch him play, the type of player you’ll watch a game again three days later just to see his moves. Hopefully, he will be at the World Cup.”

Five-time European champions Barcelona made it to the semifinals last year, when they were eliminated by eventual runners-up Inter Milan.

Barcelona willing to take chances against ‘strong’ Atletico

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said his players need to be confident they can pull off the comeback.

“I believe in my team, and I think we can do it. It’s possible,” he said. “I know we are up against a strong Atletico side with great players. We have to take our chances, as that was the difference in the first leg.”

Flick did not rule out midfielder Frenkie de Jong making his first start after a long absence because of a hamstring injury.

Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak could return to the starting lineup after being sidelined for more than a month because of a muscle injury.

Atletico are hoping to reach the semifinals for the first time since 2017.

Coach Diego Simeone did not rule out Oblak’s return even though he has not played since March 10 in the 5-2 win over Tottenham in the round of 16. The goalkeeper has been practising with the squad for the last few days and is reportedly fit to start.