Walk the talk, son: Lamine Yamal's trash talk backfires on him heavily in El Clasico

There's no point in blaming a young man for being immature, overconfident, or occasionally long-tongued. Especially if that young man is one of the best footballers on the planet, who almost won the Ballon d'Or at the age of 18.

However, Lamine Yamal should learn a serious lesson following this latest El Clasico, which ended in Real Madrid's much-deserved 2-1 triumph. More importantly for the player himself, his words in the build-up to the game played on Sunday at the Santiago Bernabeu served as fuel for the rivals.

When karma strikes — Real Madrid crushed Barca and ghost known as Lamine Yamal

Three days before that epic clash, the Barcelona teenager accused Real Madrid of stealing and complaining. "They rob, they complain, they do things..." Yamal said during an interview with Ibai Lanos.

Those accusations of his resonated heavily and quickly reached his future opponents, who were eager to put him down to earth straight from the kick-off, together with thousands of infuriated fans, who booed him every time he got the ball.

Yamal sets Spain on fire ahead of El Clasico: "Real Madrid robs, complains, does things..."

Unfortunately for Yamal and millions of Barcelona fans, he seemed totally out of balance, making many mistakes and being a shadow of his former self.

On the other hand, Los Blancos were determined to make him miserable, chasing him like mad dogs, even after the final whistle. Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Junior were especially inspired to rub it in the face of the 18-year-old forward.

"You talk too much, talk now. You lost the Ballon d'Or for the same reason," yelled Vini and Carvajal in Yamal's direction, as the commotion started. Thankfully, it didn't end in a fight.

His statement served as fuel for the Madrid players, as Aurelien Tchouameni admitted after the game that Lamine's words motivated him.

"I like those things. In the end, there was something between the players, but it helps us, the players, to compete against Barca. When we were kids, we watched the same things. We won the game, got three points and we have to continue like this. I like those things, they are just words, no bad intentions. But as for our determination, it helped us a little more. If Lamine wants to talk, no problem. The games are played on the field. Today we won, we are very happy with our performance and we will continue," said the French midfielder after a magnificent box-to-box performance.

Frenkie de Jong believes that Real Madrid players were unnecessarily too harsh towards Yamal.

"When the referee signalled the end of the game, the Madrid players ran towards Lamine. For me, it was a bit excessive. If they really had to do that, let them, that's up to them. You would have to ask them why. They know each other so Carvajal could have talked to him privately, called him on the phone if he had a problem. Making such gestures on the pitch... He didn't say that Real Madrid are stealing. Maybe indirectly, not directly. Everything was exaggerated. I can understand why they are angry because of Lamine's statement, but I don't think it was that important. I don't think it was a problem," concluded the Dutch midfielder.

LA LIGA - MATCHDAY 10

Friday

Real Sociedad - Sevilla 2-1 (2-1)

/Oyarzabal 19 pen, 36 - Gudelj 30/

Saturday

Girona - Oviedo 3-3 (0-1)

/Ounahi 83, Stuani 64 pen, 90 pen - Vinas 38 pen, Rondon 57, Carmo 90+7/

Espanyol - Elche 1-0 (0-0)

/Romero 47/

Athletic Bilbao - Getafe 0-1 (0-0)

/Mayoral 75/

Valencia - Villareal 0-2 (0-1)

/Moreno 45 pen, Comesana 57/

Sunday

Mallorca - Levante 1-1 (0-1)

/Maffeo 79 - Eyong 22/

Real Madrid - Barcelona 2-1

/Mbappe 22, Bellingham 43 - Lopez 38/

Osasuna - Celta 2-3 (2-1)

/Budimir 37 pen, 45+1 - Jutgla 26, 69, Duran 87/

Rayo Vallecano - Alaves 1-0 (0-0)

/Alemao 90+1/

Monday

23.00: (3.20) Betis (3.40) Atletico Madrid (2.25)

***odds are subject to change***