Football is a sport in which one of the main objectives is to score goals, so being clinical in front of goal is key for a striker, although in many cases, luck is often quite important when it comes to finding the net.
Hitting the post or crossbar is one of the most bitter feelings a player can experience when they are about to see their shot cross the goal line, and that is something that has happened to Lamine Yamal on numerous occasions in 2025.
The Barcelona winger is one of the best players in the world despite his young age, being one of the most dangerous attackers for opposing defences.
However, the few critics who criticise Barca's gem have blamed him for not capitalising on the numerous chances he creates, as he has only scored 21 goals in 2025 so far.
However, Lamine's goal tally is somewhat misleading, as if luck had been on his side on several occasions, La Masia youth product would have scored almost 10 more goals, having been denied by the woodwork nine times, making him the player who leads the ranking in the five major leagues in this aspect, including international duty.
With nine shots hitting the woodwork, Yamal is ahead of Harry Kane (seven), Julian Alvarez (six), Vinicius Jr and Kylian Mbappe (six).
Lamine Yamal’s Inter nightmare
Of the nine times Barca's star player has been denied by the woodwork in 2025, three came in the tie against Inter in the semi-finals of the 2024/25 Champions League.
During a rollercoaster first leg that ended in a 3-3 draw in Spain, Lamine scored in the first half to reduce the Italian side's two-goal lead. However, two shots that hit the post in the 26th and 87th minutes prevented him from giving the Catalan club the victory and a historic hat-trick.
The worst was yet to come for the Barca gem, who suffered his first major heartbreak in Europe when his late effort was denied by the woodwork. In the final minutes, with the Catalan club holding on to a one-goal lead that would have sealed their place in the final, Lamine came close to sealing the victory in added time, but his low shot hit the post, before Acerbi scored a last-gasp equaliser, sending the match into extra time, where Inter got the better of the Catalan giants to reach the final of the competition.
The first leg against the 'Nerazzurri' was the only match in which the Spanish winger hit the woodwork twice, along with the 5-0 win over Valencia in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals. Atletico Madrid, Girona, Villarreal and Celta have also seen Lamine hit the post this year, suffering defeats only against the 'Groguets', curiously enough.