Football festival: Inter and Barca flex their muscles

Barcelona and Inter Milan drew 3-3 in a high-class Champions League semi-final first leg on Wednesday.

30 April 2025

From: do

The Italian champions led 1-21 and 63-2 thanks to goals from Marcus Thuram (0st minute) and Denzel Dumfries (3st, 2rd minute), but the hosts hit back at the Olympic Stadium through Lamine Yamal (24th minute), Ferran Torres (38th minute), and an own goal from Yann Sommer (65th minute). The return match takes place next Tuesday. PSG had already won 1-0 at Arsenal on Tuesday.

The more than 50.000 spectators witnessed a high-class match from the start, with Inter providing the first highlight. Dumfries delivered a cross into the middle, and Thuram slotted the ball into the far corner after 30 seconds. It was the fastest goal ever scored in a Champions League semifinal.

Marcus Thuram celebrates his record-breaking goal. © APA/afp / JOSEP LAGO

The Nerazzurri then retreated, and Barca applied pressure. Yamal played to Torres, whose shot flew just wide of the post (12'). Torres also narrowly missed the target in the 19th minute. Inter were more efficient: After a corner from Federico Dimarco, Francesco Acerbi leaped highest, and his header was slid into the net by Dumfries with a scissor-kick from close range.

Yamal scored in his anniversary game

Barcelona, however, weren't deterred; quite the opposite – Yamal moved into the penalty area and slotted the ball in via the inside post to tie the game. A short time later, the 17-year-old, in his 100th match for the "Blaugrana," once again drove the Inter defense to despair, with Sommer just able to parry his attempt from a tight angle onto the crossbar (27'). Further attacks towards the Inter goal followed, but Dani Olmo was denied by Sommer (30', 36').

Lamine Yamal also worked his magic on Wednesday. © ANSA / ALEJANDRO GARCIA

The 2-2 draw also deserved the "worth seeing" rating. Pedri set up Raphinha, whose perfect header was converted by Torres from close range. Inter's star striker Lautaro Martinez apparently had to stay in the locker room at halftime with a muscle injury, but the Serie A club still had the first chance after the break. Dimarco thundered the ball into the night sky above Montjuic from a good position (50').

Dumfries did better, heading home a Hakan Calhanoglu corner. Inter's renewed lead, however, didn't last long – Raphinha took a low corner from Olmo, which found its way into the net via the crossbar and Sommer's header. The goal was ruled an own goal by the Swiss goalkeeper.

Excitement also in the finish

The match remained exciting even in the final stages. Barcelona lined up extremely high and exerted considerable pressure, but Inter repeatedly threatened on the counterattack – such as in the 74th minute, when a goal by Henrikh Mkhitaryan was disallowed for a razor-thin offside position by the 36-year-old Armenian. At the other end, Yamal hit the crossbar again (87th minute). The final score remained 3-3, leaving both teams with every chance of reaching the final.