Yamal must forget Chelsea horro as Alaves looms
Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick has encouraged Lamine Yamal to forget about his performance against Chelsea, ahead of his side's LaLiga fixture against Alaves.
The Blues beat Barca 3-0 at Stamford Bridge in the UEFA Champions League in midweek, with Ronald Araujo also receiving a red card during the defeat.
Yamal registered just one shot in the match and completed four of his 10 dribbles, but he did win 12 of his 17 duels and created a team-high two chances.
But with Estevao scoring at the other end, the 18-year-old was kept largely quiet by compatriot Marc Cucurella before being substituted in the 80th minute.
Flick insisted Yamal is not hung on his performance, and urged the winger to show his quality against Alaves on Sunday (AEDT).
"Lamine's mood is good," the Barca coach said.
"A lot of players, when we change them, they are not happy. I was also a player and, maybe sometimes, I did not show the right reaction, but it's like that. It's emotion.
"For me, Cucurella is one of the best left-backs in the world. It's not easy to play him, he's very smart, very intelligent in the defence.
"The next step now for Lamine is to show again it's not about this match, forget it. Alaves is now the important thing, and he has to show his best performance, his best level."
Fermin Lopez has been sidelined for two weeks with a calf injury, while Araujo is also set to miss out with a stomach bug.
However, Pedri is set to make his return for Barca, with Raphinha and Marcus Rashford also available to start after they were on the bench against Chelsea.
"I have really missed Rapha," Flick added. "I see him as one of the most important players in the team, with the philosophy we have and how we want to play.
"He's a big positive in our game when we defend, when we start the pressing. But also in transition, he's unbelievably good.
"It's not for nothing he scored so many goals last season. He has the hunger to show how good he is this season again after a fantastic year last season."
Alaves is currently 14th in LaLiga after back-to-back 1-0 defeats against Celta Vigo and Girona.
It has won just once in its past five league games, a 2-1 victory over Espanyol on 3 November (AEDT).
