Rise of a Football God

26 minutes, 0-1…

The lead didn't last though, Lamine Yamal struck.

FWEEE!

FC Barcelona restarted the game and this time, they decided not to rush things, passing the ball around as they embodied the Barca DNA of tiki taka football for a few minutes.

From Pedri to Frankie De Jong to Jules Kounde, all the way to Sam and Gavi up field, FC Barcelona pinged the ball around, for almost 2 minutes, till the ball got to Lamine Yamal deep at the right side of the pitch.

Pedri played an accurate long cross to Lamine Yamal and as soon as the ball got to the young winger, Ferland Mendy, Real Madrid's left back pressed.

As soon as Mendy pressed, Lamine Yamal read his move, reacting.

He rolled the ball with one leg before pushing it with his other leg, nutmegging the left back. Ferland Mendy tried to grab Yamal but reacting fast again, he jumped, evading the left back.

And just like that, he left his marker for dead.

Yamal was not free yet though as Jude Bellingham already dropped back, initiating the press after he beat Ferland Mendy.

Bellingham focused on defending his inside to prevent Lamine Yamal from penetrating into the 18-yard box with his dribbling. He wanted to push the winger to dribble outward.

Yamal knew what his opponent's intentions were, and he didn't resist it. Rather, he accepted it, dribbling outside and away from Bellingham.

Dani Ceballos crossed the distance to him next, pressing but Yamal kept his cool. With a drop of the shoulder and a la croqueta, he blitzed past the midfielder.

Bang!

Another Madrid player clattered into Sam, hitting him from the side even as the player's elbow hit his ribs.

Lamine Yamal felt a spike of pain but he didn't react to it, gritting his teeth through it to push forward, and then…

BAM!

Lamine Yamal hit his trademark flair shot, curling the ball towards the top corner of the net.

Thibaut Courtois knew exactly what the young winger was about to do, this was why he reacted fast, jumping. And yet, it was not enough.

The angle on Yamal's shot was too acute.

It floated like a curve ball, moving past Courtois' hand, then it kissed the top bar before bouncing down and into the net.

Silence, then…

BOOM!

The Spotify Camp Nou erupted.

"WOW! LAMINE YAMAL, WHAT A GOAL!"

"A STUNNING SOLO RUN!"

"The teenage wonder has added another volume to the Lamine Yamal collection!"

"He blitzed through Ferland Mendy, shrugged off Jude Bellingham, sent Dani Ceballos to the shadow realm, held his ground against Federico Valverde and still managed to shoot, scoring such an outrageous goal past Courtois!"

"What a goal!"

Lamine Yamal rushed towards the corner flag, sliding on his knees in celebration even as the Barcelona fans cheered him on.

His teammates swarmed him, celebrating with him.

Mere 2 minutes after Real Madrid's goal, in the 28th minute, Lamine Yamal did it, bringing the game back level.

28 minutes, 2-2…

The game continued.

After that goal, Barca gained dominance over the game but as Sam was finally unlocked, causing menace in and around the Real Madid 18-yard box.

Yet, Sam didn't score a goal though despite his threat, neither did Barcelona.

In the 37th minute of the game, FC Barcelona was stunned again and this time, it was Jude Bellingham.

And again, it was another counter.

It was vintage counterattacking Real Madrid tonight.

Federico Valverde won the ball back after a stray pass from Inigo Martinez, immediately feeding the ball to Vinicius Jnr.

Kounde quickly closed down the dangerous Brazilian but Vinicius didn't try to dribble past the Frenchman this time, rather passing to Kylian Mbappe before erupting with speed, running out of bounds outside the pitch to evade Kounde.

Pau Cubarsi was already pressing Kylian Mbappe as soon as the ball was passed, this was why instead of holding on to it, he hit it first time.

Bam!

He played a one-two with Vinicius Jnr., setting the Brazilian loose.

Vinicius erupted with speed, bombing down the flanks with the ball even as the Barca defense retreated in trepidation.

Pau Cubarsi raised his arms, calling for an offside but the linesman ignored him. The Brazilian managed to beat the offside trap.

Somehow, Inigo Martinez managed to return fast enough to defend, pressing the Brazilian, forcing him to slow down.

Vinicius slowing down allowed Kounde and Pau Cubarsi to arrive in time, and immediately, their attention went to the rampaging Kylian Mbappe who just bombed into the 18-yard box, asking for the pass.

Vinicius didn't pass to Mbappe though, he was already marked. Instead, he passed it behind Mbappe, to the space behind him.

A moment ago, no one was there but as soon as the ball was hit…

Whoosh!

Jude Bellingham appeared.

With his lap, Bellingham controlled Vinicius' pass and before Pau Cubarsi could react, turning to defend against him, he hit the ball with his right leg.

Bam!

Ter Stegen was rooted to one spot, watching as the ball flew past him, nestling into the left side of the net.

"GOALLLLL!"

The away end at the Spotify Camp Nou erupted again.

Jogging to the corner flag, Jude Bellingham slowed down and did his iconic celebrating, sending the fans into a frenzy.

Tonight, it was the Madrid show, or so Madrid fans thought.

37 minutes, 1-2…

5 minutes later, the Yamal show continued.

This time, it was Sam who won the ball back due to pressing high. As soon as he won back the ball from Rudiger, Sam stood his ground before the German's physicality before passing to the left where Lamine Yamal lurked.

Trent Alexander Arnold was already shadowing Raphinha, leaving Yamal as the only passing option.

Bam!

Yamal struck the ball instinctively as soon as Sam passed it. And yet, somehow, Raul Asencio managed to slide in front of goal, stopping the ball with a goal line clearance.

But it was not over yet.

This was because the rebound fell in front of Lamine Yamal again. The young Spaniard didn't hesitate, instinctively heading the ball into a free net.

FC Barcelona scored again.

2-2.