Mandi hands Yamal the gift: Barcelona star flirts with the Ballon d'Or
Does he deserve the Ballon d'Or?
Lamine Yamal kept up his eye-catching form for Barcelona, scoring twice against Levante to stretch his side's lead. Those goals took his tally to seven this season, a fast start that bolsters his case among the Ballon d'Or contenders.
Just over a month remains until the Ballon d'Or ceremony, set for 26 October in London. Yamal keeps letting his football do the talking, far removed from any self-promotion, having already forced his name into the conversation through his numbers with Barcelona and the Spain national team.
Last season proved exceptional for the teenager. Barcelona lifted the Spanish league and the Spanish Super Cup, Yamal posted impressive goalscoring figures, and he then added a world title with Spain.
The surge did not stop there. The Rocafonda product has carried his form into the current campaign alongside a flying Raphinha, the Brazilian who was left off the thirty-man Ballon d'Or shortlist despite his own eye-catching displays.
Raphinha sits on eight goals this season to Yamal's seven, so a single strike separates Barcelona's two attacking stars. The Catalans keep producing sharp attacking football and lean heavily on the pair up front.
Marc Casadó opened the scoring in the fifth minute at the Ciutat de València. Raphinha and Yamal then combined for a second, an attack that began in Barcelona's own box and finished inside the Levante net.
Yamal appealed for a penalty at the start of the second half when the ball struck Mandi's hand as the defender lay on the ground. The referee waved it away, so the winger went to reach the ball himself.
Mandi got up and then fouled Barcelona's number 10, clattering into him from behind. This time the referee pointed to the spot, and Yamal took the kick.
He set the ball down, then drove it with his left foot towards Ryan's right. The goalkeeper could not get near it. That made it three for Barcelona and lifted Yamal's personal tally to seven this season, one behind Raphinha.
Hansi Flick decided to rest his young star after such a display, hauling him off in the 66th minute for Dani Olmo. Yamal had done his attacking job in style and shaped a huge chunk of the contest.
