Topics: Champions League, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Lamine Yamal
Barcelona and Inter Milan served up a thrilling 3-3 draw in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie on Wednesday.
Lamine Yamal got himself on the scoresheet in the middle of the first half and was a constant thorn in Inter's side with another fabulous performance on the biggest stage.
The 17-year-old winger already has the world at his feet and his latest display the the Nou Camp simply added to an already swelling reputation.
Barcelona's opponents expend an awful lot of energy trying to defend against Yamal and limit his impact on a game but that's already easier said than done.
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Even Inter found the teenager impossible to shackle effectively and head coach Simone Inzaghi admitted on Wednesday that the Nerazzurri had their work cut out.
Yamal gave Barcelona a foothold in the game after Inter made a lightning-fast start that made a mockery of their recent poor form in Serie A, where Napoli have now taken control of the title race with just a few matches remaining.
With 23 minutes played and Barcelona already two goals down, the Spain winger curled in a breath-taking finish to pull a goal back. He quickly went close to a second.
Inzaghi revealed after the match that Inter's plan to stop Yamal was a straightforward numbers game based on his sheer brilliance.
"I haven't seen a player like Lamine Yamal in the last eight or nine years," said the Inter boss. "We had to put three players on him."
Yamal is now the youngest player to reach 100 appearances for Barcelona and the youngest player to score in a Champions League semi-final, testament to the extraordinary capabilities of La Masia's finest product for years right out of the box.
Already a European champion at international level, Yamal has his sights on a famous treble with his club.
Barcelona defeated Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final and are four points ahead of Los Blancos in La Liga with five matches left to play.
With Inter now fully aware that three men can't stop him, Yamal and Barcelona go into their Champions League semi-final second leg at San Siro knowing that any win will do.
Inzaghi is going to need a new plan.
