Barcelona will face Valencia on Sunday in La Liga, hoping to get back to winning ways and stay in touch with league leaders Real Madrid.
Before the match at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, Valencia captain José Gaya spoke to the media today and highlighted Lamine Yamal as a threat, while praising the The Masia sensation.
Gaya greets Yamal
Gaya and Yamal will go head-to-head on Sunday and when asked if the 17-year-old was currently the best player in the world, the Valencia captain replied:
“I don’t know if he’s the best, but he’s certainly one of the best. I remember seeing him for the first time with the national team when I was 16 and I was amazed. I told myself: ‘he’s going to be a player who will mark an era’, and I think he will.
“He has everything to succeed. It is true that he is very young, but his potential is unlimited. If he is not the best, he is one of the best and it is always nice to face players like him.”
Speaking about the challenge of facing the Barcelona prodigy, Gaya added: “We always have the option of watching individual videos of the opponents we may face, but I have watched Lamine quite a bit.
“It’s difficult to defend him because you don’t know what’s better: whether to press him quickly or leave him space. If you press him quickly, he has the ability to go both ways, and if you back off, he can create complicated situations because he has a lot of speed.
“You have to defend aggressively and make him run back. Players like him prefer to run forward rather than backward, and that’s the key.”
Even though Valencia are still four points from safety, Gaya is confident they can turn things around and put in a good performance in the Catalan capital.
“We are going to face the best Barcelona. “I saw the (Champions League) game and it was a recital of how they believe in themselves.” Gaya pointed out.
“They are a fantastic team that is playing very well, with incredible players, and they have adapted to what their coach asks of them: to be very aggressive and keep going.” said.
Source: Mundo Deportivo