Barcelona manager Hansi Flick lavished praise on Lamine Yamal after the teen star scored a brilliant goal in a thrilling 3—3 draw with Inter Milan at home in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal.
Appearing in his 100th match at just 17 years and 291 days old, Yamal became the youngest player to score in the last four of the Champions League.
He eclipsed the record set by Kylian Mbappé, who was 18 when he achieved the feat in 2017.
The Spanish international’s stunning individual goal breathed life back into the match for Barcelona after it fell 2-0 behind early in the first half.
“Lamine showed us the way with that incredible goal because it was crucial to score that goal after we were losing by two goals, he played really well,” Flick told Movistar Plus.
“We played with style and we tried to win. Lamine was a very important player for us … in the big games, as he has already shown, he always turns up.”
Inter Milan manager Simone Inzaghi was also full of praise for Yamal, revealing he made several adjustments at half-time in an attempt to contain the talented teenager.
“We had to be better on Lamine Yamal, but it’s much easier to say that from outside,” Inzaghi said.
“He is a player who impressed me and he created a lot of problems for us, mainly in the last 30 minutes of the first half.
“Barça are a team of fantastic players and to come here and play a game like this, against the most offensive and most beautiful team in the world must make us proud.
“We could also have won it but we were playing against a team that has a player who is difficult to mark, who created so many problems for us.
“He is a talent that is born every 50 years, I had never seen him live and today he impressed me.”
Inter Milan made an explosive start, opening the scoring with 30 seconds on the clock courtesy of a cheeky back-heel from Marcus Thuram, the quickest goal in a Champions League semifinal.
The visitors extended their lead in the 21st minute with Denzel Dumfries finding the net with an acrobatic volley from a corner.
Yamal led Barcelona’s fightback, however, unleashing a superb strike from inside the box after a clever run from the right, to reduce the deficit three minutes after Inter Milan’s second goal.
He went close again, hitting the post from close range before Ferran Torres levelled the score in the 38th minute with a first-time finish after a darting run to latch on to a Raphinha knock-down.
Despite Barcelona’s dominance, it was Inter who regained the lead in the 64th minute when Dumfries headed home from a corner.
The hosts responded immediately, as Raphinha’s thunderous strike from outside the box hit the woodwork before ricocheting off the back of Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer and into the net to restore parity.
Inter Milan hosts Barcelona in the second leg of their semifinal next Wednesday AEST.
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