Barcelona, Spain - The good news is that Barcelona and Inter Milan will do it again next week.
At the end of a breathless night at the Olympic Stadium, Inter threatened to be surprised, and Lamine Yamal once again proved himself one of the best players in the world, with the two teams unable to separate. Both may feel like they could have won an extraordinary encounter, but both will also end up being happy with a 3-3 draw, which is everything you want in the Champions League semifinals.
Inter, as their coach Simone Inzaghi promised before the game, they forgot their three defeats in the past week against Barça, including within the first 30 seconds. They were ruthless in the scene game and threatened to counterattack when they managed to play through Barcelona media in the second half. Only the offside at the edge against Henrikh Mkhitaryan was prevented from returning to Milan with a victory for the second leg on Tuesday.
However, Barcelona is not sure when they will be defeated. They dropped from 2-0 and 3-2 to grab a draw and maintain hope of progress. Hansi Flick has shortcomings around him and is sometimes exposed here, but they are also fun under the fearless 17-year-old Yamal. He scored the first goal of Barcelona, an incredible personal effort to get the master back into the game, hit the woodworker twice and create some opportunities for teammates.
"We could have won the game with a team that was hard to stop," Inzaghi said after Yamal's awe. "We started well, but in the last 25 minutes of the first half, they caused a lot of problems. He caused a lot of problems.
"He's a player I've never met before. We had to double down. We did better in the second half and could even win. Yamal was born every 50 years. We made some adjustments to improve the way we deal with him after the break, which wasn't easy. He really impressed me."
The tie is known as a series of styles: Inter Milan's cunning defense, who beat Europe's top scorer in just eight games during the league stages of the game. There are some elements in the game, especially once Inter crosses two goals and then another goal, but the game doesn't follow the script that many would expect.
After three defeats in a week, Inter hit the Serie A lead from Italy's Coppa Italia, and he saw their high notes disappear. Trophy-free season has become a real possibility, but if so, they will defeat the battle.
Marcus Thuram, in the wild in the first half, returned from an injury and opened the score with the fastest goal in Champions League semifinal history, and in just 30 seconds the cross of Denzel Dumfries was transformed with Denzel Dumfries. When right-wing defender Dumfries was so happy with rookie left-back Gerard Martín, forcing him to be taken away at the end of the half - acrobatic effort from the corner doubled the lead after just 21 minutes, a painful silence fell around the stadium.
Barcelona supporters read on the banner for one night: "A mission, final." Now, their only mission is to try to fight the dominant Italian champion from two goals.
Fortunately, Barcelona has Yamal. The teenager said this week he had no fear for years, dating back to his time playing with the older kids in his hometown of Mataró, north of Barcelona, and made a comeback two years and one day after his 15-year-old debut.
The Spanish International scored its super first goal, drove into the box, beat the defender, and then curled the ball with his left foot. He then hit the bar from an impossible angle and created opportunities through Ferran Torres before Barcelona, where in good working form Pedri and Raphinha finally equalized.
"I think Lamin was so important to us in the first half because he created a lot of positive things and scored the first goal," Frick said.
Yamal's display was even more impressive as he felt the muscle twist during the warm-up. As a moment begins, whispers around him, he may not be suitable for starting the game. During those tense minutes, the real feeling may just be shaking.
"He kind of feels it, but everything has been checked, he has the green light to play," Frick confirmed. "I think he's...he's special. He's a genius. He's doing what he's doing today in big games. I think he likes that situation, too. I'm glad that the talent (as Inzaghi says) can play for Barcelona."
But, it's not about Yamal. International inter play football. They regrouped after the break and performed better after the break - despite losing the damage from Captain Lautaro Martinez - in the space to deal with Yamal and take advantage of the Barca high line transition.
Ultimately, though, it was their drama that made them a difference. In the 63rd minute, the second Dumfries goal restored their lead.
"We know they are one of the best teams in Europe," Frick said. "When you see how tall they are, we have to defend it better."
2:01
Burley: Lamine Yamal "outside this world"
Craig Burley was filled with praise for Lamine Yamal after scoring a 3-3 draw in Barcelona’s first leg of the Champions League semi-finals.
Rafenha said admitting three goals at home was "unacceptable".
However, within two minutes, Barcelona is the level. Raphinha's thunder strike hit the bar and bounced behind the unfortunate Yann Sommer.
From there, the game could have been possible as tensions grew. The paucubarsí challenge on Thuram was celebrated, like a goal, the strike of Mkhitaryan was narrowly excluded from offside, Yamal once again got on the bar, the time of stopping time ended, and Sommer produced Raphinha's sublime.
They will go again on Tuesday in San Siro. Barcelona hopes to get Alejandro Balde and Robert Lewandowski back, and Jules Koundé knocked on Inter. Inzaghi said Martínez is the main suspicion of Italians.
"I'm proud of a great team of players who came here and played such a game against the most attacked team in the world," Inzaghi said. "The second leg was as tough as it was today. We were doing well in the moment, but there were other spells that had to suffer, and knew we were good at Barca. But they also realized that it was very difficult for them to stop in front of them."