Yamal dazzles as Barca peg Inter back to set up mammoth San Siro affair
Barcelona's Lamine Yamal celebrates after scoring during the Champions League semi-final first leg. Pic: AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti
LAMINE Yamal served up a thrilling demonstration his precocious talent but the 17-year-old’s efforts weren’t enough to secure Barcelona a first leg lead.
Hansi Flick’s side will head to the San Siro for the Champions League semi-final return with the tie perfectly poised after twice working their way back to level terms against an Inter Milan side who will draw belief from their display in Spain.
In a dramatic pulsating game, Yamal, making his 100th senior appearance, dragged his side back into the contest after Marcus Thuram scored after just 30 seconds and Denzel Dumfries soon doubled Inter’s lead.
Level at half-time thanks to Ferran Torres’ equaliser, Barcelona were again forced to recover after Dumfries headed his second, equalling after Raphinha’s shot struck keeper Sommer before being denied victory when Yamal struck the bar late on.
The way the game played out means Inter’s satisfaction at claiming a draw was balanced by their disappointment at failing to hold on to the lead while Barca’s reaction will be equally mixed.
The prospect of the return is an enticing one.
Inter couldn’t have wished for a better start. A cross field ball from Nicolo Barella allowed the Dumfries to push forward down the right and it took a hurried clearance from Jules Kounde to prevent the right wing-back’s cross from reaching Federico Dimarco.
Barella picked up the loose ball and found Dumfries who delivered a second cross and Thuram’s improvised flick did the rest.
Just as in the first semi-final at the Emirates Stadium 24 hours earlier, the home side were left stunned after conceding an early goal. For Barcelona though, things would get worse before they got better.
Yamal found himself heavily marked but when he did finally find some space, the youngster almost set up Ferran Torres for a 12th minute equaliser.
The teenager’s threat was evident and underlined his talent once again when delivered a tempting cross to the far post, almost finding Inigo Martinez.
From the resulting corner, Torres sent another snapshot narrowly wide but while Barcelona were looking dangerous as they attempted to work their way back on level terms, their vulnerabilities at the back continued to be exposed.
The attacking strengths of Hansi Flick’s side have been demonstrated time and again during the course of this competition but they have been less convincing defensively and Inter were offered plenty of encouragement when they countered.
And they doubled their lead in the 21st minute through a combination of the Italians’ aerial threat and Dumfries’s excellent finish.
Dimarco’s outswinging corner was met by Francesco Acerbi’s header and Dumfries reacted superbly to volley acrobatically past Wojciech Szczesny.
At that point, Inter might have expected their renowned defence to take care of the rest.
Yamal, though, had other ideas and the Spain international quickly began to dominate the game, seemingly relishing the challenge of overcoming Inter’s attempts to shackle him.
Barcelona needed to get a foothold in the game and inevitably it was Yamal who delivered the 24th-minute response to kick-start the comeback. Confronted by a group of defenders, Yamal weaved his way past one before sending a precise, curling finish in off the far post.
The goal shifted the mood dramatically as Flick’s side began to take control.
Yamal showed he wasn’t finished when he embarrassed Dimarco before delivering a powerful shot from a tight angle that keeper Yann Sommer tipped onto the bar.
Dani Olmo then came close to matching his teammate when he worked his way through two Inter defenders before shooting straight at Sommer.
The momentum of the game though had changed completely and Barca were level seven minutes before the break after a well-worked move.
Pedri delivered a cross towards the far post and Raphina’s cushioned header fell perfectly for Torres to finish from just six yards out.
Another piece of Yamal trickery reinforced the sense that the break couldn’t come soon enough for the visitors.
Simone Inzaghi’s side regrouped and were quickly given fresh encouragement when they again troubled the fragile home defense and would have regained the lead had Dimarco not miscued his shot.
There was always likely to be another chance for Inter and it came in the 63rd minute from another corner when Dumfries was allowed to meet a corner and his header went in off Olmo.
It took Barca less than two minutes to draw level again though, this time from another set-piece that played to their own strengths. Olmo delivered a low ball towards Raphinha who struck a thunderous first-time shot from outside the area that crashed against the bar and in off Sommer’s back.
Szczesny 6; Kounde 6 (Garcia 42,6), Cubarsi 6 (Christensen 83,6), Martinez 6, Gerard Martin 5 (Araujo 46,5); De Jong 7, Pedri 7 (Gavi 83,6); Olmo 6 (Fermin 68,6); Yamal 9, Torres 7, Raphinha 8.
Sommer 7; Bisseck 6, Acerbi 6, Bastoni 6; Dumfries 8 (Darmian 81,6), Barella 7, Calhanoglu 7 (Frattesi 70,6), Mkhitaryan 6, Dimarco 5 (Augusto 56, 6); Thuram 7 (Zielinski 81,6), Martinez 6 (Taremi 46, 6).
Clement Turpin 6
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