Barcelona coach Hansi Flick stated he would defend teenage star Lamine Yamal against criticism for his occasional "emotional" outbursts, ahead of Wednesday's Champions League quarterfinal first leg against Atletico Madrid. The 18-year-old winger did not celebrate Barca's late winner in the 2-1 victory at Atletico in La Liga last Saturday, which extended the Catalans' lead to seven points at the top of the table.

Yamal was visibly irritated, with Spanish media reporting it was because a member of the Barcelona coaching staff admonished him from the sidelines for shooting when he could have passed. The Spain international has also shown anger at being substituted by Flick in the past, and the coach emphasized his unwavering support. Flick told reporters: "What we have to see is that Lamine is 18 years old and for me he's an unbelievable player, you can see it when you watch the game again – what he's doing is unbelievable. But he's only 18, sometimes he's angry when I substitute him. He had a situation where he dribbled past four or five players and then shot and missed. Sometimes, he's frustrated he didn't score this goal, and he's like that, he's emotional, and this is good. I will always support him."

Flick admitted that Yamal's shows of disapproval on the sideline sometimes create headlines that are not ideal for the team. He added: "He's a fantastic player, on the right path, we will help him to develop. Not everything that he's doing is good, as it creates this noise around our team. I know everyone is looking to him because he's a fantastic player, but we also have to see that he's 18 years old. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. I said to him, no problem, you can do it and I will always protect you. This is what I want for him, show everyone on the pitch how good he is, and he will be one of the best, maybe the best player in the future."

The coach also discussed the upcoming Champions League tie, noting that the quarterfinal against Diego Simeone's Atletico would be tricky to navigate, starting at Camp Nou on Wednesday. Flick said: "Atleti is a tough team, they have the right attitude, a lot of intensity, fast players, fantastic players on the pitch. On Saturday, they rested many players, but the quality was very high. They love to defend, they know how to defend in a deep block, it's not so easy to score two goals at Atletico. It's always tough. There will be a lot of emotions in this game because it's two legs, we try to give our best to get a good result tomorrow."

Flick mentioned that Marcus Rashford is in line to start on the left flank in place of the injured winger, Raphinha. The England international, on loan from Manchester United, scored against Atletico last Saturday. The coach acknowledged that Rashford still needs to improve his defensive work rate but said he is doing well, although Flick has not indicated if he wants the club to execute the purchase option they have for the forward.

Source: www.aljazeera.com