Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi heaped praise on Barcelona’s teenage sensation Lamine Yamal following their thrilling 3-3 draw in the Champions League semi-final first leg on Wednesday.
The 17-year-old winger marked his 100th appearance for Barcelona with a stunning solo goal, inspiring the Catalans to fight back from a two-goal deficit and causing constant trouble for Inter’s defense.
“Yamal is a rare talent, players like him come along maybe once every 50 years,” Inzaghi said. “I had never seen him live before tonight, and he really caused us problems. We had to double up on him, which left us exposed elsewhere on the pitch.”
Despite Yamal’s first-half dominance, Inter managed to contain him better in the second half. Inzaghi credited tactical adjustments for that improvement.
“We made some changes to limit Yamal’s influence, it wasn’t easy, but it was necessary,” he added.
However, Inzaghi expressed concern over star striker Lautaro Martinez, who was forced off with an injury at halftime. “We’ll have to see because there are some doubts about his availability for the second leg,” he said.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick also praised Yamal’s impact, echoing Inzaghi’s admiration. “When I hear that kind of praise, I’m just happy he plays for Barcelona,” Flick said. “He was key to our comeback. In big matches, great players step up and Lamine did just that.”
“He’s special, he’s a genius,” the German coach continued. “The things he does, the small details, it’s just unbelievable.”
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