Yamal Cites LeBron, Neymar in Barcelona's UCL Comeback Push

Lamine Yamal, the 18-year-old winger for FC Barcelona, is drawing inspiration from basketball star LeBron James and Brazilian forward Neymar as his team prepares for a critical UEFA Champions League quarterfinal second leg against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday. Trailing 2-0 from the first leg at Camp Nou last week, Barcelona must overcome the deficit at Atletico's Metropolitano Stadium to advance to the semifinals.

Yamal, who has scored 22 goals and provided 18 assists across all competitions this season, changed his Instagram profile picture to an image of James celebrating the Cleveland Cavaliers' 2016 NBA Finals victory. That triumph featured a historic comeback from a 3-1 series deficit against the Golden State Warriors. "LeBron is one of the references that is inspiring me for the game," Yamal said in a prematch news conference. "I put it as my photo for that reason. I am thinking about how he did it in 2016 and hoping for the same result for us."

The young Spaniard also invoked Neymar, whom he considers his idol from childhood, citing Barcelona's famous 6-1 comeback against Paris Saint-Germain in the 2017 Champions League round of 16. After losing 4-0 in the first leg,...