Lamine Yamal is taking inspiration from NBA legend LeBron James ahead of Barcelona’s Champions League quarterfinal second leg against Atlético Madrid on Tuesday, April 14.
Yamal changed his Instagram profile picture to James before the match at Camp Nou, which Barcelona must win by at least two goals after dropping the first leg 2-0 in Madrid last week.
The Barcelona star didn’t just use any image of James, but a picture of him holding the championship trophy after the 2016 NBA Finals.
In that series, James helped the Cleveland Cavaliers overturn a 3-1 deficit against the Golden State Warriors, winning the final three games to be crowned NBA champions.
In a news conference on Monday, April 13, Yamal said he was hoping to emulate the comeback that James and the Cavs pulled off a decade ago.
“[James] is one of my references that can inspire me for tomorrow’s game,” Yamal said. “I’ll think about how he did the comeback [in 2016] and I hope it unfolds the same way for me.
“We have plenty of leaders in the team. I consider myself one of them, but not the only one.”
Barcelona fell 2-0 in the first leg, as a first-half red card for defender Pau Cubarsí proved costly. Julián Alvarez and Alexander Sørloth scored on either side of halftime to give Atlético a huge win at home.
Yamal, who has 22 goals and 18 assists this season, said his team would give everything to overturn the deficit against Diego Simeone’s team.
“What I can promise for tomorrow is that if we get knocked out, it will be with us fighting until the end,” Yamal said. “We won’t stop running for one minute and give everything for this badge. I think the comeback is possible.”
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lamine Yamal press conference: Barcelona star channels LeBron James
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