Barcelona and Inter played out a gripping, action-packed 3-3 draw in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Wednesday.
Tuesday's duel between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain proved a tactical battle of fine margins, but the first leg between Barcelona and Inter conjured the chaos most associate with Champions League knockout football. A breathless first half saw four goals shared evenly between the teams, La Blaugrana coming from two goals down to draw level before the break.
Marcus Thuram had offered Inter a surprise advantage with just 30 seconds on the clock as his deft flick beat Wojciech Szczesny. The Barcelona stopper was helpless as Denzel Dumfries' scissor kick doubled the Nerazzurri's advantage, but the astonishing individual brilliance of Lamine Yamal reduced the deficit prior to Ferran Torres' equaliser.
Barcelona were once again forced to showcase their never-say-die attitude after the restart as Dumfires bagged himself a brace from another Inter corner, with Yann Sommer's unfortunate own goal from Raphinha's rasping long-range drive making it three apiece.
The hosts pushed for a decisive seventh goal of the encounter in the closing stages but were unable to find it, leaving the tie finely-poised ahead of next Tuesday's second leg at San Siro.
Player | Rating |
|---|---|
GK: Wojciech Szczesny | 4.9/10 |
RB: Jules Kounde | 6.5/10 |
CB: Pau Cubarsi | 5.8/10 |
CB: Inigo Martinez | 6.5/10 |
LB: Gerard Martin | 5.8/10 |
DM: Frenkie de Jong | 7.1/10 |
DM: Pedri | 7.1/10 |
RW: Lamine Yamal | 8.8/10 |
AM: Dani Olmo | 6.9/10 |
LW: Raphinha | 7.7/10 |
ST: Ferran Torres | 7.9/10 |
SUB: Eric Garcia (42' for Kounde) | 6.5/10 |
SUB: Ronald Araujo (46' for Martin) | 6.3/10 |
SUB: Fermin Lopez (68' for Olmo) | 6.4/10 |
SUB: Andreas Christensen (83' for Cubarsi) | N/A |
SUB: Gavi (83' for Pedri) | N/A |
Subs not used: Ander Astralaga (GK), Inaki Pena (GK), Hector Fort, Pablo Torre, Ansu Fati, Pau Victor.
Player | Rating |
|---|---|
GK: Yann Sommer | 6.1/10 |
CB: Yann Aurel Bisseck | 6.5/10 |
CB: Francesco Acerbi | 6.9/10 |
CB: Alessandro Bastoni | 6.0/10 |
RWB: Denzel Dumfries | 9.3/10 |
CM: Nicolo Barella | 6.9/10 |
CM: Hakan Calhanoglu | 7.3/10 |
CM: Henrikh Mkhitaryan | 7.0/10 |
LWB: Federico Dimarco | 6.6/10 |
ST: Lautaro Martinez | 6.0/10 |
ST: Marcus Thuram | 7.3/10 |
SUB: Mehdi Taremi (46' for Martinez) | 6.5/10 |
SUB: Carlos Augsuto (55' for Dimarco) | 6.8/10 |
SUB: Davide Frattesi (71' for Calhanoglu) | 6.2/10 |
SUB: Matteo Darmian (81' for Dumfries) | N/A |
SUB: Piotr Zielinski (81' for Thuram) | N/A |
Subs not used: Josep Martinez (GK), Raffaele Di Gennaro (GK), Gabriele Re Cecconi, Stefan de Vrij, Kristjan Asllani, Nicola Zalewski, Marko Arnautovic.
Player of the match: Denzel Dumfries (Inter)
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