Champions League semi-finals don’t get much better than that. Inter Milan and Barcelona played out a modern-day classic, with 13 goals scored across the two legs.
In Spain, the first game ended up delivering a thrilling 3-3 draw, but the return leg in Italy went one step better. With seven goals on the night, Milan sealed their spot in the final with an extra-time winner from Davide Frattesi as the home side won 4-3 on the night (7-6 on aggregate).
As the number of goals shows, the attacking talent on display was an absolute joy. Sadly for Barcelona, though, they come away with nothing after all the efforts.
One bright spark, however, was the continued excellence of rising star Lamine Yamal. On the biggest stage, the 17-year-old dazzled again, and the English media have offered their take on his performance in defeat.
Lamine Yamal Shines Despite Defeat vs Inter
“Danced past the Inter defence with tremendous balance”
As the stats show, he was pretty impressive, leading the way for shots, successful dribbles, duels won, and fouls won – one of which nearly led to a penalty.. If that wasn’t enough to convince, English media has collectively agreed Yamal put in a superb display: Vavel handed him a 9/10, ranking him as the best player on the pitch and writing:
“The majority of Barcelona’s attacks went through the winger. Danced past the Inter defence with tremendous balance and ball control. Had a few chances in added time which were agonisingly close. May not have gotten on the scoresheet, but certainly made a real impact on proceedings.”
Football365 writer Jason Soutar hailed the teenager’s ‘exceptional’ performance, comparing him to Lionel Messi. He wrote:
“We are still catching our breath as for the second week running, Lamine Yamal’s ability to glide through challenges with that Lionel Messi-esque balance and poise was on full display, nutmegging and skinning anyone brave enough to dive in – even under the constant pressure of Federico Dimarco and friends.”
Members of Barcelona’s ever-growing fanbase are unhappy with the referee for not noticing an incident in the build-up for Acerbi’s goal.
Journalist Adam Drury was less effusive, but still handed the youngster a respectable 7/10 in Goal’s ratings (the joint-highest score for a Barcelona player). He added:
“Saw plenty of the ball and produced some lovely moments of skill to turn the tide in the second half, with his change of pace a particular feature.”
Respected journalist Henry Winter claimed after the game that, despite the defeat, “Lamine Yamal’s fabulous football is the antithesis of running down the clock.” He spoke about how the youngster was criticised for going for goal late on with Barca winning 3-2, instead of trying to take the ball to the corner, but praised the player, remarking:
“Yamal is loved because he doesn’t play safe. Football is special when players and teams don’t play safe. So Yamal, this flowing bundle of talent and invention, went for it.”