Everything that happened as Barcelona, Inter shared a 3-3 Champions League semi-final first-leg thriller
The tie will be decided at San Siro in Tuesday’s second leg, with the winner reaching the 2025 Champions League final in Munich
Barcelona and Inter played out a pulsating 3-3 draw in Catalonia, in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final.
Marcus Thuram scored the fastest goal in semi-final history after just 30 seconds, before Denzel Dumfries acrobatically doubled Inter’s lead 20 minutes later.
Inspired by Lamine Yamal, Barcelona roared back thanks to the teenager’s stunning solo goal and Ferran Torres’ neat finish.
Dumfries scored again to make it 3-2 but that lead lasted only a minute, as Raphinha’s fierce strike from range went in off Yann Sommer after crashing against the crossbar.
It sets up the intriguing prospect of a winner-takes-all second leg at San Siro on Tuesday.
What’s next for both sides?
We know the key bit here. It’s the second leg of this semi-final in San Siro, where Inter and Barcelona will carry on where they left off tonight, and this 3-3 epic.
The second leg takes place on Tuesday, May 6 — with the victor finding out 24 hours later who between PSG and Arsenal (1-0) they will meet in Munich for the final.
As for before the second leg, Barcelona travel on Saturday night to face Real Valladolid: La Liga’s bottom side on a run of seven straight defeats and with a goal difference of -57.
Barca have a four-point lead from Real Madrid at the summit with five games to play.
As for Inter, they play at roughly the same time as Barcelona — hosting a struggling Hellas Verona that are five games without a win and three without a goal.
Inter are three points behind Serie A leaders Napoli with four games left.
After those two, it will be all eyes on the second leg…
Let’s get more of your opinions on a beauty of a game today, as attention starts to turn towards the two second legs in this wonderful Champions League semi-final draw…
💬 Christopher S: “Absolute cinema. Barca-Inter might be the most underrated fixture in Europe. So many classic games, but this might be the best game this season in Europe.”
💬 Charles D: “Put it this way, if Neymar and Mbappe were sold for €200 million several years ago, Yamal should go for €300 million today.”
💬 Dev S: “Barca until this evening had not conceded a single goal from a corner for the entire 2024-25 UCL campaign. That being said, Inter literally specializes in dead-ball situations. The manner in which Araújo and Martín got out-jumped and outmuscled on both those goals is very concerning. Let’s hope both Balde and Jules are fit for the second leg.”
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My favourite photo from Montjuic tonight? This gem from Josep Lago of Inter Milan wing-back Denzel Dumfries.
This is exactly how I imagine it feeling to wring your body of all its energy in the draining environment of a Champions League semi-final leg against Barcelona.
And Dumfries was exceptional in those 90 minutes too.
What if the away goals rule was still in place?
With the score at 3-3, the action kept flowing. It felt like the closing stages of a second leg, with Inter not keen to settle for the draw they may have wanted to take back to San Siro next week.
Before the away-goals rule was discontinued by UEFA in summer 2021 — meaning away goals were the decider in two-legged ties that finished in an aggregate draw — teams who were 3-3 up were generally happy to keep that scoreline knowing a 0-0, 1-1, or 2-2 draw in the return leg would be enough to progress.
Jose Mourinho’s Inter, who won at Barca on the way to the 2010 Champions League trophy and the treble, would definitely have been in ‘what we have, we hold’ mode.
But not this Inter side, who kept pushing forward — even after Raphinha’s equaliser had appeared to swing the momentum back Barca’s way. Current coach Simone Inzaghi made positive substitutions, and his team continued to look to exploit Barca’s rocky defensive high line.
Barca experienced a let-off when the officials did not punish an apparent handball by Inigo Martinez, and they escaped again when only the narrowest of offside calls stopped Henrikh Mkhitaryan from making it 4-3.
It made for tremendous drama — and if the scrapping of the away goals rule had any part in the entertainment, it has been a welcome change.
What was behind the three goals from corners?
The idea of set pieces deciding big European matches is something of a cliche — but it was proved true here, providing three of the six goals.
Inter scored twice from their first two corners — that they only had two in the first 63 minutes is a sign of how counter-attacking and defensive they ended up playing.
The delivery was almost identical both times: a whipped right-footed ball from the right by Hakan Calhanoglu. But the finish changed.
With a starting XI 1.5 centimetres shorter on average than Inter’s, Barcelona’s equaliser — just two minutes after Inter went 3-2 up — was never going to be an outswinging corner for an aerial finish like Inter scored twice from.
Instead, the bodies in the box became decoys and they went short for Raphinha to rifle home from distance.
His clean strike got the bit of luck it needed when it hit the bar and went in off Yann Sommer’s back.
Inter’s fast start stunned Barca
It felt like rewatching Inter in 2023 all over again.
Two years ago, Inter scored twice in the first 11 minutes of the Champions League semi-final first leg ‘away’ to city rivals Milan, and never looked back.
This time, it was twice in the first 21 minutes. But like that Milan game, one goal was from a trademark vertical move and wing-back low cross, and the other from a corner.
Marcus Thuram’s opening backheel inside 30 seconds made it four European goals this term for the forward, half as many as club captain Lautaro Martinez (eight).
But it was also an example of how dangerous a role those forwards play in the build-up for their own goals.
Inter’s corner to double their lead followed the same textbook outswinger they have used to great effect this season, with Denzel Dumfries acrobatically volleying in Francesco Acerbi’s header towards goal — their 14th goal from a corner in all competitions this term.
Inter had stunned this treble-chasing team and their supporters — but Barca responded in style.
