'Very Messi': Teen megastar Lamine Yamal earns ultimate praise
Lamine Yamal was held by Lionel Messi as a baby for photographs for a charity calendar.
Seventeen years on, the Spanish sensation is earning comparisons to the man widely regarded as the greatest footballer ever.
Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany had lauded Barcelona for helping shape another talent in the same stratosphere as Messi before Thursday's (AEDT) Champions League clash.
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Lionel Messi cradling Lamine Yamal. AP
Kompany could then only watch on helplessly as Yamal produced another mesmerising performance in Barcelona's 4-1 victory.
"He always shows up in the big games," former Socceroos captain Craig Foster said on Stan Sport.
"It doesn't matter if it's a Euro final or if it's here. He's going to the very top. It's only a question of when he gets there.
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Lamine Yamal of Barcelona shoots under pressure from Alphonso Davies of Bayern Munich. Getty
"He is the finest young player in the world. And not just because of his technical quality but the fact that he delivers it in the big moments. That's what's so special about him and what was beautiful about this game this morning.
"He usually cuts inside and he's smashing goals from outside the box. He's curling things. But what he did today was very Messi.
"That's what reinforces Kompany's comments. Those little flicks and the nutmeg - there's four players that he's drawing - that's obviously what Messi used to do.
Lamine Yamal of Barcelona arrives at the stadium. Getty
"Messi, the reason why I always loved him as the best player, was because his assists and his quality of forward passes - creative passes, penetrative passes - was like the best No.10 (playmaker) in the world plus the best No.9 (striker) in the world.
"And what Yamal did today was not in the final third. But his quality of finding (Robert) Lewandowski and being the creator was unbelievable."
Barcelona captain Raphinha's third goal came after he controlled Yamal's crossfield pass on his chest and exploited the gap between two defenders before completing the hat trick.
"That ball to Raphinha, he's under pressure from one of the best fullbacks in the world, Alphonso Davies - probably the quickest - he's on him and yet he's still able to affect the game in this way. That's phenomenal," Foster gushed.
It was also a great night for English clubs.
Premier League leader Liverpool moved level on points with Aston Villa at the top of the standings by extending its perfect record to three wins, and Manchester City set a new record for the most consecutive games undefeated in the history of the competition.
Liverpool edged Leipzig 1-0 with a goal from Darwin Nunez.
Nunez tapped in the only goal in the 27th minute from Mohamed Salah's header back toward goal and could have earned a penalty in the 38th minute when he appeared to be tripped by Willi Orban.
"If we had left this place with a draw, I would have really felt we had lost something," Liverpool manager Arne Slot told TNT Sports.
"For the 70 previous minutes - except, maybe, for the first 10 - we dominated." - with AP
