Barcelona and Inter will go into next week’s return leg with everything to play for after a 3-3 draw in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.
Hansi Flick’s side have regularly taken early leads in their matches this season, but on this occasion, they were the ones to fall behind in quick fashion. The opening goal came after 30 seconds, and it was scored by Inter’s Marcus Thuram. A poor clearance from Jules Kounde allowed the Nerazzurri to recycle the ball, and Denzel Dumfries’ cross was turned home by the striker, who flicked the ball past Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.
20 minutes later, Inter doubled their lead, with Dumfries turning scorer on this occasion. A corner was met by the head of Francesco Acerbi, and the Dutch wing-back managed to volley into the back of the net from close range.
But fortunately for Barcelona, they scored very soon after as Lamine Yamal finished off a wonderful solo move. The 17-year-old sensational almost didn’t start the match after pulling up in the warm-up, but the Catalans were very thankful that he was okay as he took the ball past several Inter defenders before firing in via the post.
And soon after, Barcelona brought themselves back level. Pedri crossed for Raphinha, who headed into the path of the on-rushing Ferran Torres, who finished from close range to ensure that the match was all square going into half time.
Barcelona had all of the momentum, but Inter were the team to go 3-2 up as Dumfries scored his second. It came from another corner, as he found his way past Wojciech Szczesny once again. But just two minutes later, the hosts brought it back to 3-3 as Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer scored an unfortunate own goal following a ferocious strike from Raphinha.
Barcelona pushed hard to take the lead in the closing stages, but they could not find the goal that they were after. It means that there is nothing between the teams ahead of next Tuesday’s second leg at the San Siro.
