Several Barca and Madrid players were asked about what happened as chaos happened in El Clasico.
A common question for all of them in the mixed zone was the role Yamal’s pre-match comments might have had in adding extra spice to the game.
Before Sunday’s kick-off, Yamal joked that Madrid were “moaners and robbers” during a livestream of Gerard Pique’s Kings League competition and then, on the eve of the game, he posted photos on Instagram of angry Madrid fans giving him stick after he scored at the Bernabeu in last season’s La Liga meeting.
Smiling, Tchouameni said of Yamal’s comments: “I like these things. It is just words; there is no bad intention. It helped us a little bit more.”
He added: “At the end, there were some things between the players. It helps us, as players, to compete against Barca. When we were kids, we also saw these things. We won the game, got the three points, and we have to keep going like this.
“If Lamine wants to speak, no problem for us. The games are played on the pitch. Today we won, we are very happy with our game, and we move on now.”
Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo said, “I did not see what happened at the end, don’t know what happened. I am not going to talk about Lamine today, just to say he is a great professional, the best player in the world, and we are happy to have him with us. Lamine is very professional, an adult now, and knows what he has to do.”
Barcelona midfielder De Jong also said he “did not see what happened” to spark the fracas between players.
“I was on the pitch, and suddenly I saw a lot of players and staff,” he added. “When the referee blew the final whistle, Madrid players came running towards Lamine. For me, it was a bit exaggerated. If they need to do that, they will do it. It’s up to them. You’d have to ask them why.”
The Dutchman was asked about the confrontation between Carvajal and Yamal, too. “If you are Lamine’s team-mate (with Spain), you know him, and you believe he shouldn’t make those comments, you can call him instead of doing that on the pitch.
“Making gestures like that on the pitch, it’s more of the same. You create something like what we are talking about now. It is all very exaggerated. I can understand Madrid getting angry, as they see a quote from Lamine, but I don’t think it was so big. I don’t think it’s a problem.”
Meanwhile, Real Madrid manager Alonso said what happened was “completely normal”, adding, “I don’t think we should read too much into it. It’s football. These are El Clasico games.”
Sorg, Barcelona's assistant coach, said: “Honestly, I did not realise what happened. In the end, there were a lot of people shouting between the benches, but I think we have to focus on the game.”