Lamine Yamal is the heir to Messi and Neymar's throne

At 17 years and 64 days old, 2008-born PSG winger Ibrahim Mbaye was the youngest player to make an appearance across Europe's Big Five Leagues this past week. Kyllian Antonio, another 2008er, was the youngest player to start a match. At 17 years and 64 days old, he played 82 minutes on the right of Lens' three centre-backs against Lille.

At 19 years and 299 days old, Desire Doué was the youngest player to score multiple goals this weekend and the only teenager to do so. He truly is gifted by name, gifted by nature. He’s going to pop up a few more times in this section.

Half of the six players to provide multiple assists this weekend were French players born in 2001 or later. Bradley Barcola (2002), Maghnes Akliouche (2002) and Michael Olise (2001) all provided two assists in wins for their respective sides. Don’t mess this up, Monsieur Deschamps.

Arnaud Kalimuendo (2002) was the only player of any age to be directly involved in three goals this weekend, scoring two and assisting the other in Rennes’ 0-3 win against Angers. The French theme is strong this week.

This is a cheat French / Michael Olise mention, but he accumulated 1.5 Expected Assisted Goals this weekend, the highest tally across all ages. Although this would have equalled the U23 record, Olise logged this at 23 years and 107 days old. Rules are rules. The highest xAG tally by a player under the age of 23 was Lamine Yamal against Osasuna (1.1). Get ready to read a lot more about him.

Lamine Yamal attempted seven shots against Girona, more than any other U23 player in the past week; Kylian Mbappé was the only player to register more (8) but both are short of Jamal Musiala’s U23 record of 10. The Yamal stats get better, I promise.

Désiré Doué and Nathaniel Brown were joint-top with five Key Passes this weekend, three short of the U23 record. But Doué also attempted five shots - scoring two goals, remember - making him the sixth U23 player to record 5+ Shots and 5+ Key Passes in a Big Five League game this season alongside Lamine Yamal, Bukayo Saka, Anthony Elanga, Florian Wirtz and Cole Palmer. Elite company.

Pedri completed 15 Passes into the Final Third against Osasuna and then completed 13 against Girona three days later. In the past week, no U23 player can beat either tally. This kid is on a different planet.

Lamine Yamal became the first U23 player to reach double figures for Passes into the Penalty Area in a Big Five League game this season, completing 10 in Barcelona’s 3-0 win against Osasuna. The only other player of any age to do so this season is Robert Skov. The only other U23 player to do so since the start of the 2017/18 season is Florian Wirtz, also completing 10 in a 3-0 win against Arminia in February 2022.

Yamal also became just the third player since 2017/18 to complete at least seven Through Balls in a single Big Five European League, alongside Neymar and Lionel Messi. Neymar has done so five times, including setting the record of nine. Lionel Messi completed eight for PSG in 2022. But at 17 years and 257 days old, Yamal is the only player to do so under the age of 25, let alone 23, and he’s the only non-PSG player to do it. He truly is a generational talent, I have even more proof.

Désiré Doué recorded more Shot-Creating Actions than any other U23 player this past week, generating 11. You didn’t need the stats to tell you how good his display against Saint-Étienne was, but now you have loads of them. I also recommend checking out his heat map from that game. Omni-10, anyone?

Lamine Yamal equalled the 2024/25 single-game record for Carries into the Penalty Area across all ages, becoming the fourth player to reach double figures after Sávio, Jérémy Doku and Vinícius Júnior.

Lamal Yamal attempted (19) and completed (9) more Take-Ons than any player of any age managed in a Big Five League game over the past week. Interestingly, all four players to attempt 10+ were under the age of 23: Yamal, Désiré Doué, Assane Diao and Nico Williams - the podium was occupied by three teenagers. Of the five players to complete 5+ Take-Ons this weekend, three were under the age of 23: Yamal, Doué and Jude Bellingham. But Jérémy Doku’s records for Take-Ons Attempted (22) and Take-Ons Completed (15… twice!) are safe.

Lamine Yamal recorded the most Touches in the Attacking Third (68) and the most Touches in the Attacking Penalty Area (14) across all ages in the past week. Florian Wirtz still holds the U23 record for the Attacking Third (89) and there is still a three-way tie between Noni Madueke, Nick Woltemade and Sávio for the Attacking Penalty Area (17).

Nathaniel Brown made the most Tackles (8) across all ages, yet another reason to make a note of his name if you have not already. Remember, I highlighted him for his proficiency in ground duels in the latest SCOUTED Squad.

But perhaps the most surprising stat this week is that Bradley Barcola (!) was the under 23 player with the most Interceptions in a Big Five League game this past week. He made five against Saint-Étienne, also providing two assists.

César Tárrega made 16 Clearances in Valencia's 1-0 win against Mallorca, no player across all ages made more in the past week. Just before the international break, Tárrega made TWENTY (!) Clearances against Girona, becoming just the second U23 to make 20+ in a Big Five League game this season, equalling Charlie Cresswell's record. Spain's centre-back depth is nuts.

Álvaro Rodríguez won more Aerial Duels (8/13) than any other U23 player this past week. The most bonkers part of that stat is that he only played 24 minutes. The under 23 player that won the most while maintaining a 100% success rate was Raúl Asencio (5/5).