The Inter head coach, Simone Inzaghi, called Lamine Yamal a phenomenon that only comes along every 50 years after the teenager led Barcelona’s comeback against his team at Montjuïc.
Inter led the Champions League semi-final first leg 2-0 after only 21 minutes but, on his 100th professional appearance for the club, the 17-year-old scored an outrageous goal to get Barcelona back in the game and produced a performance that suggests it is not that he will become the best player in the world – he already might be.
Barcelona came from 2-0 down to 2-2 and from 3-2 down to 3-3, Lamine Yamal scoring the first and allowing the ball run though his legs for Raphinha to smash in the third. He also hit the bar in the first half and provided a catalogue of extraordinary passes and touches, but departed disappointed having been unable to get the winner, a last-minute lob also coming back off the bar. Nonetheless, he departed having left a lasting impression.
“We could even have won this game against a team who have a player who is difficult to stop,” Inzaghi said afterwards. “We started well, but they created a lot of problems: he created a lot of problems. He is a player I had not seen live before. We had to double up on him. We managed it better in the second half and could even have won. Lamine Yamal is a phenomenon born every 50 years. We made some adjustments to improve how we dealt with him after the break, which is not easy. He really impressed me today.”
Hansi Flick, the Barcelona head coach, said: “I think he’s special. I said it, often before, he’s a genius. During the game, when I look at the match from the outside, it’s not like when you see after. You see all the details and it is unbelievable how he does it. At 17 years old, he’s an unbelievable player and for me the important thing is he keeps going.
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“He was so important for us in the first half. He created a lot of things and scored the first goal. You know, I know, everyone knows, and after today, that he is a fantastic player. He does it always in the big games. In the big matches like the semi-final today, he shows how good he is. This is what we want and need from him. He’s always there. He has to enjoy it too. I am really happy that this talent who comes every 50 years plays for Barcelona.”