FC Barcelona and Inter Milan played to a thrilling 3-3 draw in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final on Wednesday night.
UEFA Champions League
Result: FC Barcelona 3-3 Inter Milan
Date: 30 April 2025
Venue: Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys
Blaugrana top scorer Robert Lewandowski missed out completely and was replaced by Ferran Torres, as Dani Olmo, Inigo Martinez and Pedri were also recalled by Hansi Flick.
The Serie A side got off to the perfect start when Marcus Thuram found the back of the net inside 30 seconds with a lovely flick after getting on the end of Denzel Dumfries' cross.
The lead was doubled in the 21st minute when Dumfries got a goal to go with his assist after meeting Francesco Acerbi's header with a lovely bicycle kick in the six-yard area.
However, Barcelona were able to hit back three minutes later in superb style as Yamal skipped past a couple changes and surged into the box before curling beyond the reach of goalkeeper Yann Sommer to become the youngest player to score in a Champions League, breaking Kylian Mbappe's record.
The crazy first half continued as the Catalan giants got back on level terms with seven minutes left in the first half when Raphinha's delightful knock down fell into the path of Torres, who made no mistake from six-yards out.
The sides kept up the tempo in the second period as the pendulum swung Inter's way on the hour mark when Dumfries got his second goal of the contest by bundling the ball home off his shoulder after Barcelona failed to deal with another corner.
The visitors' joy only lasted five minutes as Barcelona were back on terms when Raphinha's powerful trike from 25-yards crashed against the crossbar but ricocheted back in the goal off Sommer's back.
Inter had the ball in the back of the net with 14 minutes left on the clock though Henrikh Mkhitaryan's finish, but the goal celebrations were cut short due the flag going up for offside, with the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) confirming the decision.
Neither side were able to find a winning goal closing stages, which sets up a lovely second leg next week in Milan.
