Barcelona drew 3-3 with Inter in a Champions League semi-final first leg for the ages on Wednesday.
An epic contest was sparked into life after just 30 seconds, when Marcus Thuram scored the earliest semi-final goal in the competition’s history.
Yet inspired by Lamine Yamal’s brilliance, Barcelona fought back not once, but twice, to ensure the second leg next week will start with the scores level.
Thuram’s superb, flicked finish from Dumfries’ right-wing cross left treble-chasing Barca stunned inside the opening minute at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.
Barca piled on the pressure, with Yamal and Ferran Torres going close, though Dumfries turned from provider to scorer when he finished acrobatically from Francesco Acerbi’s header in the 21st minute.
1+1 – Denzel Dumfries is the first Dutch player to both score and assist in a UEFA Champions League semi-final since Wesley Sneijder, also for Internazionale against Barcelona. Bicycle pic.twitter.com/sAMvxAFp2q
— OptaJohan (@OptaJohan) April 30, 2025
Inter’s two-goal cushion lasted only three minutes, though, as Yamal skipped between a group of defenders and curled a sublime left-footed strike in off the post, marking his 100th Barca appearance in magnificent fashion.
Yamal, who had hobbled off with an apparent injury in the warm-up, left Federico Dimarco in the dust moments later, but his attempt from the cutest of angles was parried onto the crossbar by Yann Sommer.
Yet Barca had their equaliser when Raphinha grabbed his eighth Champions League assist of the season with a deft header from Pedri’s cross, with Ferran on hand to tuck home 38 minutes in.
Having lost Lautaro Martinez to injury, Inter retook the lead against the run of play in the 63rd minute when Dumfries headed in from Hakan Calhanoglu’s corner.
Barca, though, hit back within 114 seconds, as Raphinha’s venomous first-time effort clattered off the woodwork and in off the unfortunate Sommer.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan had a goal ruled out for the most marginal of offside calls, with Yamal hitting the crossbar once more late on as Inter held firm in a remarkable contest.
Data Debrief: Lamine lights it up
At the age of 17 years and 291 days, Yamal became the second-youngest player to start a semi-final in Champions League history, after Julian Draxler for Schalke against Manchester United in 2010-11 (17 years, 226 days).
The Spain international turned on the style, and his goal was a thing of beauty. He was a constant menace, creating two chances, registering a game-leading six shots and completing six of his 10 dribble attempts, while he had 102 touches, an incredible figure for a forward.
Raphinha, meanwhile, continued his great form in this competition. He now has 20 goal contributions in the Champions League this term, which is just one shy of the single-season record set by Cristiano Ronaldo. The Brazil forward is also just one assist away from equalling Luis Figo’s nine assists in the 1999-2000 campaign.
20 – Only Cristiano Ronaldo (21 in 2013/14) has been involved in more goals in a single UEFA Champions League campaign than Raphinha this season (20 – 12 goals, 8 assists). Contribution. pic.twitter.com/2Ko4nAEU8N
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 30, 2025
Inter, though, gave it as good as they got in Simone Inzaghi’s 50th Champions League game as a coach. Dumfries was pivotal, playing a role in all three goals. He is the first Dutch player to both score and assist in a Champions League semi-final since Wesley Sneijder, who also did so for Inter against Barca.
It leaves the tie delicately poised, with Inter having scored with all three of their attempts on target, and vastly outperforming their 0.91 expected goals.
Barca finished with 19 shots and 1.39 xG, with Sommer having kept the hosts’ score down with some vital stops too.
