Pedri sends message to Lamine Yamal after his brilliant winner for Barcelona against Athletic Club

San Sebastián—Barcelona midfielder Pedri hailed 16-year-old Lamine Yamal’s match-winning brilliance but urged the teenager to stay hungry after Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Athletic Club restored the Catalans’ four-point cushion at the La Liga summit.

Introduced from the bench as Hansi Flick chased a breakthrough at a raucous San Mamés, Pedri watched Yamal curl a spectacular second-half strike into the top corner to decide a contest that had looked destined to end in stalemate. Speaking immediately after the final whistle, the Canary Islander was quick to share credit for the goal.

“Without Fermín’s movement, the goal wouldn’t have happened, and then he put it in the top corner,” Pedri told reporters. “I told Lamine he’s welcome for the assist. He’s very young. He shouldn’t be satisfied; he should strive for more.”

The win came at a cost. Barcelona arrived in the Basque Country drained by mid-week exertions and a bruising defeat, and Pedri admitted fatigue had seeped into their play. “I was really struggling going into the match because of the effort the other day,” he confessed. “We’d just come off a tough day: we wanted to come back and it wasn’t possible because of a goal. We took the three points and we’re all set for Tuesday.”

Despite the sluggish ball circulation Flick’s side still dug out a priceless result. “The victory is very important. It’s a difficult pitch where they press a lot, we were very tired, and these are important points to keep going,” Pedri added. “We have to keep adjusting things for Tuesday because today we didn’t move the ball around with any rhythm.”

Attention now turns to the Champions League last-16 first leg at Newcastle on Tuesday. Eddie Howe’s Magpies also endured a taxing week, overcoming Manchester United in the Premier League before falling to Manchester City in Saturday’s FA Cup tie, setting the stage for another high-stakes European night.