Barcelona and Inter Milan Battle to a 3-3 Stalemate in Champions League Semis
BARCELONA, Spain — The first leg of the Champions League semifinal between Barcelona and Inter Milan turned out to be a spectacular encounter, ending in a nail-biting 3-3 draw on Wednesday night. With some stunning goals from both sides, it sets the stage for an electric second leg in Milan next week.
The match kicked off with a bang as Marcus Thuram, who was questionable to start after missing Inter’s last three matches, opened the scoring. Remarkably, he turned in a cross from Denzel Dumfries using the back of his heel just seconds into the game, leaving the home crowd stunned.
Dumfries wasn’t finished there; he doubled Inter’s lead in the 21st minute with an impressive bicycle kick, putting the visitors ahead 2-0. Barcelona responded quickly, with Lamine Yamal cutting through two defenders and curling a shot in off the far post just a few minutes later. Soon after, he almost made it an equal game, hitting the crossbar with another effort.
In the 38th minute, Barcelona finally found the equalizer when Ferran Torres headed in a cross from Raphinha, making it 2-2. However, Inter faced more challenges as striker Lautaro Martínez had to come off at halftime due to injury. Yet, Dumfries came to the rescue again, scoring from a corner kick in the 63rd minute to put Inter back in front.
Just when it seemed like Inter might take control, Raphinha struck back for Barcelona just two minutes later. His powerful shot from outside the box hit the crossbar, bounced off goalkeeper Yann Sommer, and rolled into the net, leveling the matchup again.
“Playing at home, we had the obligation to win,” Raphinha reflected after the match. “But the result isn’t too bad. We’ll prepare for the second game and aim to come out on top.”
Barcelona is striving to reach its first Champions League final since 2015, hoping to add to its collection of five titles. Under Hansi Flick, they’re also looking to replicate the treble they achieved a decade ago. Meanwhile, Simone Inzaghi’s Inter aims for their second final in three years, after falling to Manchester City in last year’s final.
Interestingly, the last time Inter lifted the European Cup was in 2010 when they notably defeated Barcelona at the same stage. The winner of this tie will face either Paris Saint-Germain or Arsenal in Munich on May 31, with PSG having secured a 1-0 victory over Arsenal in their first leg on Tuesday.
