Magnificent Yamal leads glorious almost-comeback as Barça held by Inter

The more obstacles that are put in the path of this Barcelona team, the stronger they grow. 

The blaugrana won the Copa del Rey final last weekend in a whirlwind fashion – completely outplaying Real Madrid for one half, losing control in the second, only to weather that storm in trying circumstances. 

They needed to show the same mettle on Wednesday night in the Champions League semi-final against a resolute Inter Milan, not letting the occasion or scoreboard scare them, despite allowing caginess to enter the flow of the game in the second half. 

Bamboozled, Barça were losing from the first minute, only to dominate the next 20 minutes and receive another sucker punch with another spectacular finish. But at 0-2 down, there was no panic. This Barça team only relished the task even more, as though they felt that the deficit would only make for a better story in a comeback. 

It felt like this team’s spirit couldn’t drop as Yamal, Pedri, Raphinha, Torres, de Jong, and co. retained their optimistic outlook and creative approach, pulling back to 2-2 before eventually drawing 3-3 in an exhilarating game in Montjuïc. 

Dictating the flow of proceedings throughout, as Inter set them the task of unlocking one of the meanest defences in Europe, Barça looked time and time again to 17-year-old Lamine Yamal, making his 100th appearance for the Catalan side.

Aside from his wondrous finish to kickstart Barça’s first comeback of the night, the winger also hit the woodwork on two other occasions in what was an exhibition performance from the youngster.

All night long, the ball was sprayed out to his wing. Despite the Italians tasking two defenders with the responsibility, neither could stop him. Practically every time Yamal found possession, he created a dangerous pass or weaved through opposition defenders and advanced his team’s position. So tired was Di Marco from following Yamal’s trail all night that he was subbed off for fresh legs ten minutes into the second half. 

In the middle, Pedri was the elegant metronome that he’s been all season, while de Jong was a commanding, clean, and clever presence beside him. Raphinha’s impact throughout the 90 minutes was limited, but the Brazilian was explosive when needed, finding a fabulous assist for Ferran Torres and kind of scoring the third.  

The second half brought a similar pattern as the first, but at a lowered pace, as Inter pushed their starting positions slightly forward and learned how to find pockets of space behind Barça’s high defensive line. The Italians caused numerous moments that gave the Catalans pause for thought, but still, Flick is not about to change from this high-risk high-reward style that has brought them thus far. Hearts were in mouths 15 minutes from the end when Henrikh Mkhitaryan's would-be 3-4 goal was ruled out for the tightest of offside calls. 

In a night that felt like anything could happen, Inter defener Denzel Dumfries scored his first two European goals of the season, making the most of the visitors’ aerial dominance, punching two in from corners. Set pieces are a clear advantage point for the Italians in this particular matchup, and the one time that Barça tried something different other than competing with their more physical opponents in their own attacking corner, Raphinha fired in the blaugrana third from distance, despite not technically scoring, but his rocketed shot rebounded off the crossbar and Yann Sommer’s head before hitting the net.

Before Wednesday night, Inter had only conceded five goals in this Champions League campaign. In 90 minutes, Barça increased that tally by 60%. 

At 3-3, the tie is magnificently poised for neutral fans to enjoy, but after numerous seasons of failing to even progress from the group stages of this competition, Barça are once again delighting the world as they look to make it to the Champions League final for the first time in a decade.