Soccer
Simone Inzaghi was left in awe at Lamine Yamal’s performance after the youngster’s star turn against Inter.
Yamal, who became the second-youngest player to start in a Champions League semi-final, marked his 100th Barcelona appearance in style on Wednesday.
The 17-year-old netted a wonderful goal to drag Barca back into it after Inter had stormed into a 2-0 lead courtesy of goals from Marcus Thuram and Denzel Dumfries.
Ferran Torres restored parity before Dumfries scored a second, with Barca equalising again through Yann Sommer’s own goal, leaving the tie delicately poised at 3-3 ahead of next week’s second leg at San Siro.
But it was Yamal who made the headlines, with his goal a thing of beauty. He took on Henrikh Mkhitaryan, skipped into the penalty area and bent a beautiful finish in off the left-hand upright.
“I haven’t seen a player like Yamal in the last eight or nine years,” said Inter boss Inzaghi.
Yamal, who also hit the crossbar twice, finished with 102 touches, a remarkable figure for a winger, while he created two chances and also completed six of his 10 dribble attempts.
He became the youngest ever scorer in a Champions League semi-final, surpassing the record previously held by Kylian Mbappe, while the Spain international is only the second teenager to score in the last 16, quarter-final and semi-final within a single Champions League campaign after Mbappe for Monaco in 2016-17.
Inzaghi, though, was impressed with how Inter got to grips with Yamal in the second half.
“We had to put three players on him, and naturally that opened up space in other areas,” he explained.
“After that, his level dropped a bit, and our second half was of very high quality.”
17 – At 17 years and 291 days, Lamine Yamal is the youngest player to score in a @ChampionsLeague semi-final, surpassing Kylian Mbappé in 2017 (18 years and 140 days).
Leader. pic.twitter.com/TOR97CXBx3
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) April 30, 2025
Yamal has recorded 49 goal involvements in his first 100 Barca appearances, scoring 22 times and adding 27 assists.
However, his participation on Wednesday seemed in doubt when he trudged out of the warm-up.
“He had a minor discomfort, but we assessed it and gave him the green light,” said Barca coach Hansi Flick. “And in big games, as he’s proven on several occasions, he always shows up.”
While having only seven shots, and converting all three of the ones they got on target, Inter were a constant threat on the break, and Mkhitaryan almost won it late on, with his goal disallowed for a marginal offside.
“Barcelona’s strategy is risky, but it’s paying off,” said Inzaghi.
“They’ve scored more than 150 goals, won two titles, and are still competing for two more. But our performance was of a very high standard.”
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