Spanish forward is termed a ‘genius’ after becoming the youngest scorer in a Champions League semifinal.After witnessing from the touchline how Lamine Yamal pushed his Inter Milan lineup to the limit, Simone Inzaghi has said talents like the Barcelona teenager come around only once in a half-century.
“He’s the kind of talent who is born every 50 years, I had never seen him live and he really impressed me today,” the Inter coach said after Yamal helped Barcelona rally in a scintillating 3-3 draw on Wednesday in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semifinal.
“Lamine Yamal caused us so many problems in the last 25 minutes of the first half.”
Playing his 100th game at just 17 years and 291 days old, Yamal became the youngest player to score in a Champions League semifinal, eclipsing the record set by Kylian Mbappe, who was 18 when he achieved the feat in 2017.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick described his 17-year-old player as “a genius” after Yamal put on his latest talent show in his 100th game for the club’s senior squad.
“He’s special. I’ve said it before, but he’s a genius,” Flick said. Advertisement
“In the big matches, he shows up, and I think he enjoyed the situation. I’m really happy that this talent, if it only comes every 50 years like Simone said, I’m glad it’s for Barcelona.”
Inter Milan’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan (left), who was dribbled past by Yamal, termed the footballer a player ‘who shines’ [Albert Gea/Reuters]
‘Truly unbelievable’
Yamal dismissed any comparison to Lionel Messi in his first news conference for his club a day before Inter came to town …
