Julius OkorieIt was a no victor no vanquished situation as Barca and Inter Milan battled for supremacy in the UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg Wednesday night.
In a dramatic show of resilience, both teams played out 3-3 draw at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, thus setting up a tantalising second leg in Milan.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe match exploded into life right from the start, with Marcus Thuram opening the scoring for Inter Milan in the first minute after capitalising on a defensive lapse from Barcelona.
Inter kept their foot on the gas, doubling their lead in the 21st minute through Denzel Dumfries, whose driving run and clinical finish stunned the home crowd.
Barcelona responded swiftly. The Catalans found a lifeline in the 24th minute through young sensation Lamine Yamal, who calmly slotted home to make it 2-1. The young lad has been a delight to watch in Barca’s Champions League campaign either scoring or providing an assist.
Ferran Torres levelled the tie in the 38th minute with a composed finish after a well-worked attacking move.
The second half saw the intensity rise further. Dumfries scored his second of the night in the 63rd minute to restore Inter’s lead, but just two minutes later, fortune favoured Barcelona as Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer deflected the ball into his own net to make it 3-3.
Both sides pushed for a winner in the final stages, but the scoreline remained locked, giving fans a six-goal thriller and a semifinal worthy of its billing.
The second leg at San Siro in Milan will decide who advances to the final. With everything still to play for, the stage is set for another classic European night on Tuesday, May 7.
Barcelona needed a source of inspiration and Yamal, who doesn’t turn 18 until July, scored a mesmerising solo goal as Inter couldn’t deal with his remarkable dribbling and star quality. Yamal might have had a second after another mesmerising run but his shot from near the byline had to be tipped onto the bar by Sommer but it was Ferran Torres that grabbed the leveller after a brilliant knockdown from Raphinha.
Despite settling for a draw at home, there are strong indications that Barcelona may end up carrying the day in Milan even if with a slim margin. In Milan boss Simone Inzaghi was full of admiration of Barcelona young lad Lamine Yamal who must be closely watched if Inter Milan achieve their dream at home come May 7. Hear Inzaghi on Yamal,
“Lamine [Yamal] is the kind of talent that comes along every 50 years, and to see him up close really impressed me. I’m really enthusiastic about what my lads did. They worked really hard against him, doubling and tripling up on him.
“At half-time, we changed a little. We had to mark Lamine Yamal even better – that guy really impacted on me tonight. He really did. So we wanted to play and press much higher up the pitch.
“There were excellent moments today but times where we suffered too. We were facing a great team in the form of Barcelona. But now they know they’re facing a great side in Inter next week, and in Milan.”
Inter Milan’s Mkhitaryan, speaking to TNT Sports, described the game as great to watch but not to play because it was difficult.
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“It was a crazy game. A great game to watch, but not to play, as it was very hard.
“We have done our best, but I think we could have done even better. We were leading for 20 minutes, it’s just that Barca put lots of pressure on us.”They were very good with the ball. Unfortunately, we couldn’t keep it 3-2.
“It is not going to be easy [in second leg] as we lost our captain, our leader Lautaro Martinez. We have to try do our best to replace him.”
There is no doubt the second leg will go to the wire in Milan. Putting the two first leg semi-finals already decided between Arsenal and PSG on one hand and Barcelona and Inter Milan on the other, a Barcelona versus PSG final will look more explosive. But with just a lone goal lead over Arsenal going to the second leg in Paris, the chances are open in both encounters as all look forward to a winner takes it all showdown in the second leg.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
