Easy bait: Flick's manoeuvre saves his star

Facundo Bernal's dismissal against Barcelona has set the Spanish media alight, with leading outlets zeroing in on what they called the "provocative" part Lamine Yamal played before the Real Betis defender laid hands on him.

The flashpoint arrived in the dying minutes of the second half, moments after Morocco's Abde Ezzalzouli had pulled Betis back to 3-2. Fermin Lopez was down on the turf. Betis players crowded round to haul him up and get the game going again, and Yamal waded in to protect his team-mate. That lit the fuse for a verbal and physical row with Bernal.

Yamal shoved first. Bernal grabbed the Catalan and caught him with his head, putting him on the floor. Referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea had missed the start of it, but his assistant and the fourth official flagged what had happened, and he stepped in to brandish a straight red at Bernal. Yamal escaped with a yellow.

The spark of escalation: Yamal knew how to play his cards

Jose Manuel Cano of "Estadio Deportivo" traced the spark of the escalation back to the Barcelona star in a detailed report, headlined with the verdict that "this is the worst of Yamal".

Cano writes that Yamal stepped in to defend team-mate Fermin Lopez, who was lying on the ground after the goal that reduced the deficit, and shoved Bernal during a verbal altercation.

Yamal "knew how to play his cards", according to the report. He waited for the face-to-face contact, then dropped to the ground and exaggerated the consequences of the collision to look like the wronged party in front of the referee. Out came a straight red for Bernal. Yamal got away with a booking.

Read also: Mockery of Yamal's card: Betis star asks, would the same decisions be taken if they were in Barcelona's favour?

Yamal's trap and Flick's manoeuvre

Marca went further in their analysis of the incident, claiming Yamal "set a trap" for the Betis defender.

In an article by journalist Jaime Rincon, the paper reported that Yamal appeared "extremely agitated" to lay the "bait" for Bernal. The Uruguayan "fell for it easily", shoving Yamal and then catching him with a double headbutt.

That moment turned La Cartuja against him. Every subsequent touch from Yamal was met with a wave of jeering, and Hansi Flick hauled him off immediately with the score at 2-4.

Marca called the decision a "tactical manoeuvre" to shield his star from a red card or an injury ahead of the eagerly awaited Clasico.

Flick, the paper hinted, dodged the issue at the press conference. "It was clear that we had to change Lamine. I told him that I am proud of him and that he played brilliantly", he said, cooling the atmosphere rather than addressing the real reason for the early substitution.

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