Lamine Yamal is looking to LeBron James for some inspiration as he tries to lead Barcelona to a Champions League comeback.
Barcelona visits Spanish rival 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. James’ 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 soccer.”
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 warmup 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.”
Possible Oblak boost
Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak could make his return to the starting lineup after being sidelined for more than a month because of a muscle injury.
Atletico is hoping to reach the semifinals for the first time since 2017.
Coach Diego Simeone did not rule out Oblak’s return even though he hasn’t played since March 10 in the 5-2 win over Tottenham in the round of 16. The goalie has been practicing with the squad for the last few days and is reportedly fit to start.
“I still haven’t told the players who will start,” Simeone said on Monday, adding he won’t likely make any announcement about the starting lineup until closer to game time on Tuesday.
Oblak injured a muscle against Tottenham. Argentina goalkeeper Juan Musso has been his replacement since then, conceding 10 goals in six matches as a starter, including two in Atletico’s 2-1 loss at Sevilla in La Liga on Saturday.
Whoever starts will have to face a prolific Barcelona attack that includes Yamal, Ferran Torres, Robert Lewandowski and Marcus Rashford. Absent for Barcelona will be Raphinha because of a hamstring injury.
This will be the fifth match between Atletico and Barcelona in less than two months. They have split the other four in the league, La Liga and the Copa del Rey.
“We are convinced of what we need, and we’ll play the game we need to,” Simeone said.
Five-time European champion Barcelona made it to the semifinals last year, when it was eliminated by eventual runner-up Inter Milan.
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 Atlético 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.
Whoever advances on Tuesday will face Arsenal or Sporting Lisbon in the semifinals. Arsenal won the first leg 1-0 in Lisbon last week. Their second leg in England is on Wednesday.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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