Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick has urged young forward Lamine Yamal to put Tuesday’s heavy 3-0 Champions League loss to Chelsea behind him and focus on delivering a strong performance against Alaves in LaLiga on Saturday.

The defeat at Stamford Bridge was compounded by Ronald Araujo’s red card, while Yamal endured a challenging evening. The 18-year-old managed just one shot on goal and completed four of 10 dribbles, though he won 12 of 17 duels and created more chances than any teammate. He was largely neutralized by fellow Spaniard Marc Cucurella before being substituted in the 80th minute.

Ahead of the Alaves clash, Flick encouraged Yamal to quickly move past the setback and show his usual quality.

“Lamine’s mood is good,” Flick said. “Many players are not happy when they are substituted. I’ve been a player too, and sometimes my reactions were not ideal. It’s part of the emotion of the game.

“Cucurella is one of the best left-backs in the world. He’s smart, intelligent in defense, and not easy to play against.

“The next step for Lamine is to forget this match. Alaves is now the focus, and he must show his best performance.”

Barcelona will be without Fermin Lopez, sidelined for two weeks with a calf injury, and Araujo, who is struggling with a stomach bug. On the positive side, Pedri is returning to action, while Raphinha and Marcus Rashford are in contention to start after featuring off the bench against Chelsea.

“I’ve really missed Raphinha,” Flick added. “He’s one of our most important players given the way we play. He’s a huge positive in our defensive pressing and transitions. His goal-scoring ability last season shows his hunger, and he wants to perform at the same level this year.”

Alaves arrive in Barcelona in 14th place after consecutive narrow defeats to Celta Vigo and Girona. Their only win in their last five league matches was a 2-1 victory over Espanyol earlier this month.