Lamine Yamal says comeback not impossible for Barcelona at Atletico

Lamine Yamal on Monday insisted that Barcelona must not think of a comeback in the Champions League quarter-final second leg at Atletico Madrid as a “miracle”.

Barcelona, who are trailing 2-0 from the first leg of their quarter-final, will travel to the Metropolitano on Tuesday. Due to the deficit, Barca need something extraordinary away from home to remain in the competition.

Yamal said that he always enjoys responsibility because he has been dealing with it from a very young age.

"We mustn't think of a comeback as a miracle," Yamal told a press conference.

"I've been lucky enough that, ever since I was a child, I've had to take on more responsibility than I should have. I'm used to it.

"I just focus on enjoying it, on not seeing it as a problem, but as a strength. I'm grateful for everything that's happening to me."

Most of the players in the squad for the match in Madrid emerged from La Masia, Barcelona's youth academy, with 18-year-old Lamine Yamal being widely regarded as the most talented one of them since Lionel Messi.

He made his name during the 2024 European Championship, where he helped Spain win the tournament and finished second in the 2025 Ballon d'Or vote.

"It's very important to have lots of La Masia players on the pitch for matches like tomorrow's. We're all home-grown, we all love Barca. We know what a moment like this means. We'll give it our all right to the end," he said.

History offers very few examples. Only once in the Champions League has a team won after going 2-0 down in the first leg at home, when Manchester United beat Paris St Germain 3-1 in Paris in 2019.

Barcelona themselves have done it just one time in a knockout competition, erasing a 4-0 defeat to PSG with a 6-1 win at Camp Nou in the 2016-17 last 16.

Yamal, however, is adamant that Barcelona will not give up without a fight.

"We promise that, if we're knocked out, we'll fight right to the end. We'll give our all for this badge. It'll be a match lasting 90 minutes or more; this isn't over yet. A comeback is very much possible, which is why we're here," Yamal said.