Sergio Aguero has given his take on the Vinicius Jr vs. Lamine Yamal debate ahead of this weekend's much-anticipated clash between Real Madrid and Barcelona.
La Liga leaders Barca will be hoping to extend their three point advantage over second-placed Real Madrid when they meet on Saturday night.
Hansi Flick's side have enjoyed a superb start to the campaign, picking up nine wins from a possible 10, while Los Blancos continue to struggle for consistency. That being said, the brilliance of Lamine Yamal and Vinicius Jr has been on show throughout.
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Yamal was recently presented with the La Liga Player of the Month award for September after a superb month, while Vinicius netted a hat-trick for Madrid in their emphatic 5-2 win over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.
Last month, former Villarreal and Spain midfielder Marcos Senna sparked debate when he explained why he prefers Yamal over Vinicius. “They are both great players, but I like Lamine much more. The reason is that he has pace,” he said, as quoted by Mundo Deportivo.
“When I was asked before who I preferred, Messi or Cristiano, I always preferred Messi because of that, because of the pace. He had more presence in the game. More diversity in passing. Vinicius sometimes makes passes that are brutal. The other day he gave one to Rodrygo with Espanyol that looked like Modric had given it.
“But Lamine hits it much better and in one-on-ones, he catches the eye more."
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Now, ahead of this weekend's El Clasico, former Manchester City and Barcelona forward Sergio Aguero has agreed with Senna.
Speaking to Mundo Deportivo, he said: “In terms of style of play, speaking of talent, Lamine has many more things than Vinicius, although he has more experience and is more of a player with the titles won with Real Madrid. Vinicius is one of the top three in the world but because of age and talent, I prefer Lamine.
“If it were up to me, I would have one on each side of my team and the opponent would pray. It’s like when Messi and Neymar were together. Vinicius now has Mbappe at Real Madrid, but he is more ‘9’ and does not have the same talent as Vinicius.”
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When asked to give his prediction for Saturday's game, Aguero added: “It will be a nice game. I won’t bet but Barcelona are very good. The pitch always influences and will be complicated but they have more options to win than Real Madrid, although Real Madrid do not need even 20% of the ball to score.
"Why is this so? We don’t know but historically in the last 10 minutes they have things that the rest don’t have. They say it’s luck, but it’s not like that. If you win so many times, it is not luck but something that the rest do not have.”
Topics: Lamine Yamal, Vinicius Jr, Vinicius Junior, Real Madrid, Barcelona, La Liga
Jack Kenmare