10:33PM Very happy that we scored that fast and now we have to look forward to the next match and then we see Barcelona again.
Great corner from Federico Dimarco – I was in the right place, so was very good.
Very proud of the performance today. We have to continue and work hard.
10:30PM It was a crazy game. A great game to watch, but not to play as it was very hard.
We have done our best, but I think we could have done even better. We were leading for 20 minutes, it’s just that Barca put lots of pressure on us.
They were very good with the ball. Unfortunately, we couldn’t keep it 3-2.
10:26PM I feel very gutted. Unfortunately, maybe it was two-three centimetres. This is football and you can not do anything. My will was too much to score this goal and maybe I rushed offside.
I hope to score in the second leg.
10:19PM 3-3 – Tonight’s match between Barcelona and Internazionale was the joint-highest score draw in a UEFA Champions League semi-final along with Dynamo Kyiv 3-3 FC Bayern München in April 1999. Attack. pic.twitter.com/8nyGg1pGW5
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 30, 2025
10:12PM As a pure football talent I’m going as far as to say I think Lamine Yamal is on another level to any player playing the game in the top 5 leagues in world football.
17yrs old – Truly unbelievable pic.twitter.com/T0ErTFJPQw
— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) April 30, 2025
9:55PM Yamal with one last chance to skip through the Inter challenges but the Italians just about scramble the ball clear and that is that. A Champions League classic. Barcelona feel like the moral victors having fallen 2-0 behind early on, while Lamine Yamal and their attacking football dazzled thereafter. That said, they conceded three goals at home and an away draw in a semi-final first leg is always a good result so Inter have every chance of progressing. The one blow for them was the loss of Lautaro Martinez to injury, but they can hurt this Barcelona team.
9:51PM Darmian has made a couple of important clearances since coming of for Inter. Fermin tries to find Raphinha with a diagonal pass but overhits it and Inter have a goal kick.
9:50PM There will be just three minutes of added time to play. This game is an attack vs defence session now.
And Raphinha lets fly with another rasping strike from long range! Tipped over by Sommer. Inter have a corner to defend.
9:49PM Barcelona are starting to turn the screw not and sustain pressure but Inter are defending their penalty box well and putting bodies on the line. Bisseck wins a header against Raphinha after Barcelona tried another diagonal to the back post. Augusto defends well up against Yamal in a one-on-one on the right.
9:47PM This is better from Inter, absorbing the pressure and closing off the passing avenues. More like what we expected from them pre-match.
Then Yamal hits the bar with a mis-hit cross! He has not been as influential in the second half, but that moment of fortune could have won the game.
9:44PM Curbasi, on a yellow, has been hooked by Flick and replaced by Andreas Christensen, the former Chelsea defender. The pace of the game has relented a touch, but Barcelona are still pushing forward and probing with possession in the Inter half. Inter look like a team who will gladly take the 3-3.
9:40PM Szczesny just about wins a race to a loose ball outside his penalty area in front of Dumfries after that Barcelona high was pierced once again. That was Dumfries last act of the game, with Thuram also coming off. Darmian and Zielinski are coming on. Thuram and Dumfries are both returning from muscular injuries.
9:38PM A nervy moment for Inter as Raphinha’s low free-kick creeps under the wall but Sommer’s handling was clean to avoid a dangerous rebound. The clock is ticking down now and Inter are getting closer to a highly creditable result.
9:36PM Mkhitaryan thought he had given Inter the lead again after a sweeping low cross across the Barcelona penalty area but he was flagged offside. Replays suggest it was very tight, but after a check using the semi-automated offside system VAR upholds the on-pitch decision.
Moments later, Dumfries barrelled his way into the box but unwisely tried to pass when the shot was on.
9:34PM Fermin Lopez has been lively since coming on before Inter’s defence stands firm to block Raphinha’s low cross. Inter have constructed some better moves in this second half, Taremi has made it stick and allowed runners to join.
9:31PM Taremi holds the ball up well to win a foul, and then Mkhitaryan splits the Barcelona defence open with a through ball but Curbasi did well to recover and block Thuram’s shot. Barcelona’s backline is so square at times with no pressure on the ball.
9:27PM Inter’s lead lasted one minute and 53 seconds. Hansi Flick has made another change: Fermin Lopez replaces Dani Olmo. Lovely quick in midfield from Pedri to draw a foul from Barella.
9:26PM The Inter lead did not last long. Barcelona won a corner which they took short, with Yamal dummying the ball at the edge of the box. It ran for Raphinha to strike from 25 yards with the ball rolling across his body, and his rasping strike crashed off the bar and off the back of Sommer. This will go down as an own goal. So unlucky for the goalkeeper, who actually got fingertips to the initial effort. But superb technique from Raphinha.
9:24PM A meat and drink delivery into the box, Szczesny is floundering in his six-yard box and it was too easy for Denzel Dumfries to win his header. The ball took a nick off a Barcelona head beyond the goalkeeper, and for all pretty patterns weaved by the home team they trail again.
9:22PM For all of Barcelona’s pressure, when Inter get the chance to attack open space in transition they look so dangerous. Bisseck is galloping forward from defence, and his cross flicks off Araujo and behind for a corner with Szczesny stranded.
9:21PM Aruajo has offered Barcelona more robustness against Inter’s long balls forward, which is helping the home team restart attacks. Yamal almost picks out Olmo with a cute pass into the box but Sommer clears.
Barella chases a pass knocked in behind the Barcelona defence and he screams for handball against Curbasi, but the referee gives nothing.
9:18PM Barella did ever so well to volley clear of his own six-yard box after another outside of the foot cross from Yamal. Pedri is then fouled in midfield, at the expense of a yellow card for Calhanoglu.
9:17PM Pedri with a snap-shot wide on the volley after a combination of Acerbi and Bastoni clear Yamal’s low cross. Inzaghi is making another change: Carlos replaces Dimarco. Rio Ferdinand one day he will tell his grandchildren about facing Yamal. Yamal might still be playing by the time Dimarco has grandchildren.
9:13PM Barcelona with a spell of possession around the Inter box, but the Italian side are doing a better job of denying access into the penalty area with passes inside from Yamal and Raphinha. It means Barcelona are having to circulate the ball in front of Inter’s defensive shape from side to side.
9:10PM Inter with a sweeping move forward down their right, with Bisseck appearing as a surprise runner from centre-half on the underlap. His low cross made its way through legs to Dimarco at the back post but he slashed his shot well over the bar. Barcelona’s defending continues to look questionable.
9:08PM Yamal tries a scooped pass into the box and then overhits a pass intended for Raphinha. Early days in the second half, but the pace has been slower and the game bittier so far which suits Inter.
9:05PM Can Inter find any way of containing Lamine Yamal?
9:05PM A second defensive alteration of the night with Araujo on for Gerard Martin.
And Lautaro Martinez has not made it out for the second half: Taremi replaces Inter’s star forward. Napoli fans will not be too disappointed to see Martinez limp off.
8:59PM 20 – Only Cristiano Ronaldo (21 in 2013/14) has been involved in more goals in a single UEFA Champions League campaign than Raphinha this season (20 – 12 goals, 8 assists). Contribution. pic.twitter.com/2Ko4nAEU8N
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 30, 2025
8:50PM That was one of the best 45 minutes of the season. You have to pause to remind yourself that Inter are still in a decent position in the tie, because since going 2-0 up they have been drowning under incessant Barcelona pressure and Lamine Yamal has produced one of the most startling individual performances you will see. Barcelona are occasionally open, but they will surely score more goals if they keep this up.
8:47PM Lautaro Martinez looked to pull up after Cruyff-turning on the ball, and looks on the verge of tears. Surely another injury? Martinez does jog back onto the pitch after receiving some treatment, but it might be a case of making do until Inzaghi can assess the situation at half time.
8:44PM Kounde’s race is indeed run, which means Barcelona are now missing three of their first-choice back four. Attack looks the best form of defence for them. Eric Garcia replaces Kounde.
8:42PM Bastoni is one of the best defenders in the world but he has really struggled, and Yamal closes him down and blocks off a pass. A worry now for Barcelona is that Kounde is down with what looks like a muscular problem.
8:40PM That goal has been coming, Barcelona have been looking for that diagonal cross to the back post all night. This time Pedri floats the ball over the head of Bisseck for Raphinha, who headed the ball back across goal. Ferran Torres was clear of Acerbi and had the simplest of finishes to score from five yards.
8:38PM This time Yamal’s cross is floated into the gloves of Sommer. Inter finding it harder and harder to make headway up the pitch, and they give the ball away in their own half. Yamal tees up Olmo for a shot from the edge of the box, and Sommer pushes the ball wide of the post.
8:36PM Barella with a driving run through midfield, but then he stubbed his foot in the turf. I think he was looking to chip Szczesny from just over the halfway line judging by the attempted technique. Barella had Lautaro in support.
At the other end, Yamal flashes another curling cross through the six-yard box. The 17-year-old is unplayable at the moment and one of those crosses should have been converted.
8:32PM Olmo shoots straight at Sommer after turning his way through the middle of Acerbi and Bastoni. That was weak defending, and Inter’s lead now feels very fragile.
Yamal then feeds another really dangerous ball across the box, and Sommer palms clear to prevent Raphinha or Ferran scoring a tap in. One-way traffic at the moment.
8:29PM Yamal very nearly repeats the trick and levels the game! He sat down Dimarco with another slalom through the penalty area and tried to beat Sommer from a tight angle. It was actually a telling touch from the Inter goalkeeper to push the ball onto the bar. Inter need to navigate their way to half time from here.
8:27PM The only way to describe that is Messi-like. At one point Yamal had his back to goal near the touchline but he found a way to turn and then dance through the attention of four or five Inter defenders before curling a shot off the far post from just inside the box. A moment of inspiration drags Barcelona back into it.
8:25PM Yamal tries another of those outside of the foot passes but it flicks off Bastoni and through to Sommer. Barcelona have the firepower to win this leg from here, never mind the tie, but worries about their glass jaw already look well-founded.
8:23PM Barcelona are not the biggest team and they have been caught out at a set-piece. Dimarco stood up the corner for Acerbi to head towards goal and there was Dumfries in the six-yard box to score with an acrobatic scissor kick. What a position Inter are in now. Could Barcelona have been braver and put their head in the way of Dumfries’ foot and drawn a foul?
8:22PM Torres with another shot just wide of the far post, the swerve from the outside of his right foot took the ball wide. The Inter take a throw-in quickly to try to release Dimarco down the left and Curbasi comes across to defend at the expense of a corner.
8:20PM Barcelona wanted a free-kick around 30 yards out for a foul by Barella on Pedri, and they have a case. The Italian arrived late and looked to trip Pedri but the referee was unmoved. Mkhitaryan was viewed as something of a luxury player earlier in his career, but Inzaghi has him doing shuttle runs across the pitch to help Dimarco against Yamal. The Barcelona winger has just won a corner.
8:17PM You would show a healthy profit if you earned £1 for every time Yamal uses the outside of his left foot in a match. A bit like former Barcelona player Rivaldo, he is hilariously one-footed, but I suppose it is a price worth paying for his left being so good.
Raphinha whips a free-kick into the box, but Sommer does well to punch clear under pressure. A sound start from the Inter goalkeeper and the three centre-backs in front of him.
8:14PM Szczesny punches a cross clear before Lautaro is flagged offside when he tried to flick a follow up effort towards goal.
Danger at the other end, with Yamal picking out Ferran Torres with a pass into the box, but his first touch was clumsy before shooting wide of the post.
8:12PM Inzaghi has picked Dumfries to target Barcelona’s left-back Martin who looks vulnerable. Bastoni defends expertly in the box against Yamal, steeping across the winger and holding him off. Speculative appeals for a penalty from the home crowd. Thuram’s goal was the fastest ever in a Champions League semi-final.
8:10PM Barcelona hogging possession since conceding, but Sommer claims a cross comfortably before Bisseck does well to carry the ball out of defence and win a foul. The pitch looks it has been heavily watered with the ball holding up on a couple of ocassions on Barcelona’s right flank.
8:06PM The pattern of the game was fairly predictable before kick off: Barcelona possession and Inter looking to counter, but that might be even more pronounced now. As Barcelona seek an immediate reply, Yamal teases an inswinging cross to the back post which was not far away from Raphinha.
8:04PM Within 20 seconds, Martinez has released Dumfries down the right behind Barcelona’s high line and his cross is half-cleared by Kounde. He gets a second bite of the cherry, and Thuram meets the delivery with a delightful backheel beyond Szczesny. Brilliant finish, not unlike a goal Kanu scored at Middlesbrough way back when if you know your Premier League Years. Inter expose Barcelona’s defence early.
8:02PM Inter get the first leg of this Champions League semi-final under way.
7:59PM Loud whistles over the Champions League anthem. A tifo displays the five European Cups won by Barcelona: 1992, 2006, 2009, 2011 and 2015. Their young team are going for European Cup number six, which would draw them level with Liverpool.
7:56PM Lamine Yamal went back down the tunnel before the rest of his team-mates and looked to be holding his groin after some conversations with a physio. No changes to the starting XI though, so Barcelona’s right-winger looks fit to start.
7:37PM He is still just 17 and has four goals and three assists alreay in the Champions League this season.
7:21PM We come from a bad week, but we can do and we have to do better.
We’re excited about the game we’re going to play tomorrow against probably the best team in the world, the most offensive, the team that scores the most goals.
We need to have the ability to play with sacrifice if we have to. We will have to be very clean technically, we need a lot of components to beat such a strong opponent…
They have incredible numbers and have won two titles, competing for two more. We have maximum respect, but no fear… We want to play a semi-final like a real Inter tomorrow.
7:15PM That was the tie in which they blew a three-goal lead against Liverpool at Anfield and fell asleep from Trent Alexander-Arnold’s quick corner. For a club of Barcelona’s stature, that is a significant absence from the latter stages of the Champions League with mismanagement from the top as much to blame as anything else.
7:11PM No, what I can see is that everyone is focused on this match, that everyone knows how important it is to be able to go to the Champions League final.
Also this win against Real is very important for the positive vibes, and it could push you also. We know that we have to work hard to reach the final. It’s a dream for everyone to be here, we have to stay focused.
Inter have a team where some players are at an age where maybe it’s the last opportunity to reach a final and they will give 100 per cent.
6:45PM With 27 goals and 16 assists across La Liga and Champions League games this season, the Brazilian winger has elevated his game to another level after an underwhelming start to life in Catalonia. In this piece, Mike McGrath looks at Raphinha’s decision to leave French club Rennes and move to Yorkshire in 2020 and how Marcelo Bielsa discovered him.
6:34PM Betting on the football today? Take a look at these best betting sites for free bets and betting offers.
6:30PM No Icelandic volcano eruption to contend with this week but when Barcelona face Inter in a Champions League semi-final memories abound of their 2010 epic which concluded with a jubilant Jose Mourinho being sprayed by the Nou Camp’s sprinkler system.
Then as now, there is a pleasing clash of styles on offer with Hansi Flick’s cavalier Barcelona one of Europe’s most fearsome attacks and Simone Inzaghi’s Inter one of the continent’s more robust defences.
The Italian side conceded just one goal in the eight-match league phase, but have suffered a dip in form at just the wrong time in the season. Inter were beaten by city rivals Milan in the Coppa Italia and have lost consecutive league games 1-0 against Bologna and Roma to hand Napoli a three-point advantage in the title race. There is now the prospect of finishing the season trophyless.
Inter have been without forward Marcus Thuram through injury in those games, but hope to have the France international back this evening. Inzaghi will also have to do without Benjamin Pavard, who scored the tie’s winning goal against Bayern Munich in the quarters, leaving a choice between Stefan de Vrij and Yann Aurel Bisseck on the right of their back three.
Barcelona are missing Robert Lewandowski but goals have not been an issue for a team who have scored 89 in 33 La Liga games and 37 in 12 in the Champions League. That’s an average of 2.85 goals per game. Ferran Torres has operated in the centre-forward role but Raphinha and Lamine Yamal are a devastating pair of wingers, while Dani Olmo has a happy habit of popping up between the cracks in defences with vital goals. In Pedri, Barcelona might just have the most in-form central midfielder in the world, although PSG’s Vitinha might have something to say about that.
That said, Barcelona conceded around five expected goals across both games against Borussia Dortmund in the quarters, so can be vulnerable if their high defensive pressure is bypassed. Inter will defend in their usual 5-3-2 shape and then look to break at pace through Thuram and Lautaro Martinez and the wing-backs.
