Lamine Yamal's performance is not enough for Barça against a brazen Inter, and the final will be decided in Milan.

There are two languages ​​that Lamine Yamal has combined to catapult Barça: not only is he capable of performing wonders with the ball, but he also has a gift for creating emotions. Don't talk to him about the future, about holding on to advantages, about giving up. With adolescent vigor, he unleashed Barça in a thrilling semifinal against Inter, who ended up clinging to the life that San Siro will give them. [Narration and stats (3-3)]

Lamine sowed fear on Montjuïc when he came off the warm-up. The omens weren't good, but he dispelled them from the very start of the match and in the most difficult of circumstances. Barça found themselves a goal down 30 seconds in, thanks to a brilliant move by Marcus Thuram . A cross from Denzel Dumfries and a backheel to stop Íñigo Martínez slipping. An unexpected blow, but also plenty of time to recover.

It wasn't going to be an easy task, as Inter went to great lengths to secure a prize they didn't have to fight for. Like the Roman legions, Simone Inzaghi 's team is capable of massing in the box, leaving no room for air. They let Barça take them there, not realizing that, that night, Lamine would be unstoppable. He was all he needed to do, searching for the opening until he found it. Not even under the chasing of Dimarco and Bastoni , with the help of Mkhitaryan , could they pin him down.

Where no one expected it

It was a night of wildness, and it didn't take long to show. First, he crossed the ball, surprising Ferran with how accurately it fell to his boot. Then it was the Valencian who sought to tip Bisseck 's rebound into the post. With Inter forced to live in their own half, before Barça could react, the second blow came. The Italians forced a corner, and Dimarco placed it in the heart of the six-yard box, allowing Acerbi to flick it in, and Dumfries appeared with an incredible overhead kick. Two goals conceded in 20 minutes, and despite the pressure and possession, not a single Barça shot went between Sommer's posts.

The Swiss player wasted no time in ceasing to be a spectator. Lamine let go of his chain and pulled the team together. The wing was his, and he easily broke anyone who came his way. He curled in from the edge of the box, fearless and brazen, slipping through where no one expected until he fired a shot off the far post that Yann Sommer could only watch with his eyes. The 17-year-old, once again, had ignited a spark that led Barça to an equalizer.

He ran through the area again to the byline, unleashing a left-footed shot that the Inter goalkeeper flicked over the bar. Lamine's electricity spread throughout the entire attack. Dani Olmo tried to unleash a shot, turning between the center backs, and Ferran Torres and Raphinha were on the lookout for crosses from the right wing from Rocafonda's inspired genius.

Inter couldn't shake off the pressure of the academy product's devastating threat, which led to Sommer once again saving Olmo's equalizer. What he could do was prevent Pedri from slipping a ball to Raphinha's head, which bounced back for Ferran to reach the goal between the two center backs and level a match in which Barça was managing to devour Inter.

Injuries brought another twist to the script. Before halftime, Koundé went to the ground. Too many minutes on the legs of the Cup hero and another test of fire for Hansi Flick , who had to send Éric García onto the field in the absence of another right-back. Misfortune also struck Inter with the injury to Lautaro Martínez .

Inzaghi and Flick wanted to slow things down and prevent the match from going crazy in the second half. Impossible. Inter stepped up to shake off their dominance, and from a corner after a poor clearance by Szczesny , Dumfries was lethal again. The satisfaction of taking the lead again barely lasted a few seconds, because from another corner kick in a set play, Raphinha unleashed a shot from the edge of the box that Sommer could only send into his own net.

No one was satisfied. Barça continued to seek to damage Inter, as if there were no second leg. The Italians breathed new life and easily found their way past Flick's defense, with rapid-fire runs from Szczesny, a goal ruled out for a tight offside call from Mkhitaryan, and the feeling that, as the final minutes approached, a respite was the best option. But Lamine didn't understand that, as he still smashed a cross against the crossbar and sent Raphinha into the net.