Barcelona vs Inter Milan LIVE: Raphinha strike sets up Champions League second leg after Denzel Dumfries brace
Barcelona 3-3 Inter Milan: A cracker in Barcelona leaves both teams on the brink of reaching the final
Barcelona and Inter Milan have it all to play for after a thrilling and fascinating first leg clash ended in a 3-3 draw in Spain.
The visitors, tipped as underdogs ahead of kick off, shocked Hansi Flick’s men with barely a minute on the clock as Marcus Thuram backheeled the opening goal past Wojciech Szszesny to silence the crowd. Barcelona then found themselves near the brink of despair as Denzel Dumfries doubled Inter’s lead later in the first half.
Yet, the hosts turned up the tempo with thanks to an inspired Lamine Yamal. The teenager cut in from the right and scored a superb goal to bring the LaLiga leaders back into the match and Ferran Torres equalised just before the break.
A rapid and scintillating match continued after the restart with Dumfries heading in his second of the night, and Inter’s third, before a blistering strike from Raphinha brought the match level again and sets up the second leg perfectly.
Relive the action from the semi-final first leg with our live blog below:
Will Yamal start?
Lamine Yamal has limped away from the pitch during the warm ups and looks like a doubt for the game now.
There’s been no word on whether he will still start so as things stand he’ll be lining up for Barcelona.
Barella the one to watch?
Inter’s Nicolò Barella has averaged more progressive passes per 90 (7.1) than any other player in the Champions League this season (min. 500 minutes played).
Similarly, he has the highest progressive pass percentage of any central midfielder in the competition this term (12% - also min. 500 minutes).
Barcelona's dynamic duo
Barcelona wingers Lamine Yamal and Raphinha have combined for more goals than any other duo in the Champions League this season (five – two Yamal assists, three Raphinha assists), while they’ve also created the most chances between one another of any teammate pairing (16 – eight each).
Martinez to emulate Cavani?
Lautaro Martínez has scored in each of his last five appearances for Inter in the Champions League.
If he finds the net here, he’ll be just the second South American player to score in six consecutive outings in the competition, after Edinson Cavani (seven between November 2016 and October 2017).
Raphinha's rapid start
Ahead of his 25th appearance, Barcelona’s Raphinha has been directly involved in 26 goals in the Champions League to date (15 goals, 11 assists in 24 appearances).
Only two players in the competition’s history have more goal contributions through their first 25 games: Erling Haaland (36) and Luis Suárez (28).
50 up for Inzaghi
Inter boss Simone Inzaghi is set to take charge of his 50th Champions League match, becoming the seventh Italian coach to reach this milestone; the most for any nation.
His 26 wins are already the most by an Italian manager through their first 50 Champions League matches (one ahead of Marcello Lippi, 25).
Attack versus defence
Barcelona are averaging 3.1 goals per game under Hansi Flick in the Champions League; the second-most by a manager-club duo with 10+ games, after Hansi Flick’s Bayern Munich (3.2).
Meanwhile, Inter could equal the record for most clean sheets by an Italian team in a Champions League campaign (currently on eight), held by AC Milan in 2004-05 and Juventus in 2016-17 (both 9).
Prolific scorers
Barcelona haven’t lost any of their six home matches in the Champions League this season (W5 D1), while scoring 21 goals in the process.
Only in the 1999/2000 edition have they ever netted more at home in a single European Cup/Uefa Champions League campaign (29 in eight games).
Unbeaten Barcelona
Barcelona are unbeaten in their six home games against Inter in the Champions League (W5 D1).
Those five home wins against them are their joint-most against an opponent in Champions League/European Cup (also five v AC Milan), while the only team they’ve hosted more often in the competition without losing is Chelsea (7).
A long time coming
This will be just the second time Barcelona and Inter have met in the knockout stages of the European Cup/Uefa Champions League, with both coming precisely at the semi-final stage.
The previous one – played in 2009-10 – saw José Mourinho’s Inter eliminate the reigning champions 3-2 on aggregate (3-1 at the Giuseppe Meazza, 0-1 at the Camp Nou).
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