Yan Diomande’s rapid emergence at Real Madrid continued with two goalscoring contributions from the bench in Wednesday’s 4-1 Champions League win over his former club Leipzig, earning fresh praise from Kylian Mbappe and the Madrid press.
The 19-year-old Ivory Coast international was introduced in the 70th minute and needed little more than 15 minutes to make a decisive impact.
He set up Mbappe in the 83rd minute before heading Brahim Diaz’s cross under the crossbar four minutes later to complete the scoring.
Diomande now has six attacking contributions in his past four matches, with three goals and three assists.
His latest performance came after he scored a spectacular effort into the top corner in Real Madrid’s 4-1 La Liga victory over Sevilla on 18 October.
The forward has also set two new records. He became the first Real Madrid player aged under 20 to score and provide an assist in a La Liga match in the 21st century.
According to Opta, he is also the youngest substitute in the club’s history to score and assist in a Champions League match. In addition, he is the youngest African player to achieve that feat in the competition since Nigeria’s Obafemi Martins did so for Inter Milan against Arsenal in September 2003.
Diomande’s performances have helped change the view of a player who was initially criticised for a slow start following his record transfer, worth 140m euros including bonuses.
His growing influence has also prompted journalist Tomas Roncero of AS to warn Vinicius Junior that the Ivorian is increasingly demanding attention.
“Vini, you know I love you very much, but Diomande is breaking down the door,” Roncero said.
The youngster’s relationship with Mbappe has also attracted attention on social media, underlining how quickly he has settled into the squad.
After the match, Mbappe attempted to hand Diomande his man-of-the-match award, but the teenager politely declined it.
The France captain later left an affectionate message beneath an Instagram post showing him lifting Diomande after the goal.
“My good little one,” Mbappe wrote.
Their developing connection, both on and off the pitch, comes at an important time for Real Madrid, who face Barcelona in the Clasico on Sunday.