On a magical evening, FC Barcelona can count on its super talent. Lamine Yamal also breaks records in the Champions League semi-final.
01.05.2025, 11:37
01.05.2025, 13:18
SDA
The spectacular semi-final show by exceptional talent Lamine Yamal immediately sparked the next comparisons with Lionel Messi. "He's a talent that only comes along every 50 years," said Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi after the cinematic 3:3 win over the 17-year-old from FC Barcelona. And the Spanish sports paper "Marca" said: "They already have the same fear of Yamal as they do of Messi."
With a goal and two shots to the edge of the goal, Spain's super talent Yamal stole the show in the semi-final first leg of the Champions League - and was celebrated by the football world afterwards. "I've never seen a player like Lamine Yamal in the last eight or nine years," said Inzaghi. It was the first time the opposing team's coach had ever seen the teenager live and at times had to send off three players to defend against him.
Haaland and Streller also impressed
And so gaps opened up for others, which contributed to the fact that neither a quick 2:0 nor a 3:2 was enough for Milan to go into the second leg next Tuesday (21:00) in their own stadium with an advantage. Thanks above all to Yamal, who once again wowed everyone with his energy, will and skill. "This guy is incredible," wrote Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland from his sofa via Snapchat. "Like Messi," said Blue expert Marco Streller: "So agile, so flexible, I've only seen that from a Messi."
In his 100th appearance for Barcelona, Yamal also became the youngest player ever to score in a Champions League semi-final. At just 17 years and 291 days old, he replaced Kylian Mbappé thanks to the dream goal to make it 1-2 and set the next record.
Yamal was just 15 years, nine months and 16 days old when he made his debut for Barcelona in April 2023 and has been a regular since last season. He made what was probably his best appearance in a Catalan shirt to date against Bayern conquerors Inter. "Lamine Yamal began to work his magic and changed the game," said the BBC: "Yamal was at the heart of everything Barça did."
One for the big games
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick was also full of praise for his latest superstar four days after the Spanish Cup win against Real Madrid. Yamal had shown his team the way after a poor start at the Olympic Stadium. "Lamine is something special, he's a genius," said the former German national team coach: "He's at the big games and enjoys it."
He was delighted that his team managed to equalize twice against Inter after falling behind. Spain's league leaders still have a chance of winning the treble, which Flick already achieved as coach of Bayern Munich in 2020. His current team would always want to "dominate the game", said the 60-year-old, "even against such a strong defense. That was impressive today."
However, Barça were drowsy and vulnerable to set-pieces when ex-Gladbach player Marcus Thuram conceded an early goal after just 32 seconds. "It's difficult to put it into words at the moment because it's clear: when you concede three goals, it's not so nice," said Flick: "But ultimately we have a second game in Milan and we want to do a lot of things better there - especially when it comes to defending."
A tough challenge for the Inter defense
Inter's defense already fears Yamal. "He's the best player in the world. He makes everything so easy," admitted Inter defender Alessandro Bastoni. The fact that his team-mate Denzel Dumfries received the award for best player after scoring two goals and providing one assist became a side note because everyone was only talking about Yamal.
"Everyone saw what a great player he is. We tried to stop him, but it wasn't easy at all," said former Dortmund player Henrich Mchitarjan: "I hope we don't let him play like that in the second leg."
