Lamine Yamal hailed by Hansi Flick and Simone Inzaghi as 'genius' and talent 'born every 50 years' after stunning Champions League display
Published 01/05/2025 at 08:39 GMT+1
Lamine Yamal marked his 100th UEFA Champions League appearance in style with an excellent virtuoso performance in Wednesday night's 3-3 draw with Internazionale at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium. The 17-year-old netted Barcelona's first goal with an incredible run and finish, prompting praise from both Hansi Flick and Simone Inzaghi. The two teams play the second leg next Tuesday.
Remarkable, special Yamal makes everything look so easy - Hargreaves
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Hansi Flick and Simone Inzaghi were unanimous in their praise of Lamine Yamal, after his stunning performance in Barcelona's UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg against Internazionale on Wednesday night.
Inter raced into a stunning 2-0 lead before Yamal halved the deficit with a superb individual goal ahead of Ferran Torres' equaliser.
Denzel Dumfries would score his second and the Nerazzurri's third to put the Serie A champions back in front, but the Catalans netted a third when Raphinha's ferocious long-range effort rebounded off Yann Sommer.
Reflecting on the drama which ensued in Montjuic, Inzaghi said: "Yamal is clearly a talent of the type born every 50 years, talents like this I've never really seen before.
"I saw him tonight for the first time, and he created problems for us, we doubled up on him... and then we lacked players elsewhere on the pitch...
"[Our performance] is a reason for great pride, and Yamal is a phenomenon of the kind born every 50 years."
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Highlights: Yamal stars as Barca and Inter play out six-goal thriller
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The 17-year-old was not quite as rampant in the second half, with Carlos Augusto brought on to marshal the precocious starlet just shy of the hour mark.
"We adjusted something, we had to be better on Yamal, which is not very simple," he explained.
Meanwhile, Yamal’s head coach – Flick – also waxed lyrical about the forward after what was his 100th Barca appearance.
Inzaghi’s complimentary words were put to Flick by reporters, to which the German responded: "I'm really happy that this talent that comes every 50 years plays for Barca.
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"Lamine in the first half was so important for us. He created so many positive things and got the first goal.
"In the big matches, you see the quality of this player and he showed it today. It's really good to have him.
"He's special, he's a genius. You see all the details and it's unbelievable how he does this."
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Yamal illuminates UCL semi-final with magic feet - ‘Box of tricks’
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