Later today, FC Barcelona will play Red Star Belgrade in the UEFA Champions League. The Catalan team would have three victories out of four in the league phase if they defeated the Serbian squad.

After being reduced to 10 men barely ten minutes into the match, Hansi Flick’s team lost to AS Monaco, ending their Champions League campaign on a poor start. They did, however, bounce back with two strong wins over Bayern Munich and Young Boys.

Barcelona is the clear favorite going into the match against Belgrade, but Flick will make sure his team doesn’t become comfortable. The German coach will want his team to put in the same level of effort as they did against Bayern Munich.

A thrilling matchup between Barcelona’s own Lamine Yamal and Andrija Maksimović, dubbed the “Serbian Messi,” has been discussed ahead of the game.

Although Yamal has already made a name for himself as one of the best attacking players in the game, both players are 17 years old and are anticipated to have great futures.

According to SPORT, Maksimović acknowledged Yamal’s brilliance at his pre-match press conference prior to the UCL encounter, but he also stated his goal to establish himself as the superior player on the field. He stated:

“We’ve met previously, and I’ll take the field tomorrow to prove my superiority against him. He [Lamine Yamal] is a fantastic player. Also, there is Cubarsi. They’re both my age. When the game is over, I hope we may switch jerseys.”

Maksimović is displaying an outstanding mindset at the age of 17. Although he acknowledges Yamal’s extraordinary talent, he is motivated to show that he can equal or even outperform the Spaniard. Additionally, he acknowledged Pau Cubarsí, a young Barcelona player.

Nevertheless, Yamal’s skills are now unmatched by many players worldwide. He competes against both young players and elite attackers in general, as evidenced by his rating in the just finished Ballon d’Or. Though the 17-year-old Kopa Trophy winner currently appears to have a higher ceiling, both Maksimović and Yamal are bound for great things. On the other hand, Maksimović has a lot of room to improve, and tonight’s game will be a thrilling chance to watch how these two 17-year-olds, together with Pau Cubarsí, perform on the big stage