Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi and Barcelona’s Hansi Flick were effusive in their praise of Barcelona’s teenage winger Lamine Yamal, following a captivating 3-3 draw in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Wednesday.
Yamal, celebrating his 100th Barcelona appearance at just 17 years old, scored a stunning solo goal that ignited Barcelona’s comeback from a two-goal deficit. His performance left a lasting impression on both managers.
“Yamal is clearly a talent of the type born every 50 years, talents like this I’ve never really seen before,” said Inzaghi. “I saw him tonight for the first time and he created problems for us, we doubled up him… and then we lacked players elsewhere on the pitch… (Our performance) is a reason for great pride, and Yamal is a phenomenon of the kind born every 50 years.”
Inzaghi acknowledged that his team adjusted their tactics in the second half to contain Yamal, stating, “We adjusted something, we had to be better on Yamal, which is not very simple.” He also expressed uncertainty about the fitness of captain Lautaro Martinez for the second leg, who was substituted due to injury at halftime.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick echoed Inzaghi’s sentiments, hailing Yamal’s impact on the game. “I’m really happy that this talent that comes every 50 years plays for Barca,” said Flick, referring to Inzaghi’s comments. The German coach credited Yamal with sparking Barcelona’s comeback. “Lamine in the first half was so important for us, he created so many positive things and got the first goal,” Flick told reporters. “In the big matches you see the quality of this player and he showed it today, it’s really good to have him… He’s special, he’s a genius… you see all the details and it’s unbelievable how he does this.”
