Attacking duo Lamine Yamal and Raphinha both made history in Barcelona‘s spectacular 3-3 draw with Inter Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
The semi-final match-up is delicately poised ahead of the second leg at San Siro next week following a high-scoring draw in Catalonia, with the two European giants serving up a Champions League classic.
Yamal answered back for Barcelona after Inter had scored twice without reply, and in doing so, the Spain international became the youngest player to score in a Champions League semi-final at the age of 17 years and 291 days old.
The teenage superstar passed Kylian Mbappe, who claimed the record in 2017 when he scored for Paris Saint-Germain at the age of 18 years and 140 days old.
There was further history created by a Barcelona attacker on Wednesday, as Raphinha moved onto 20 goal contributions in the competition when he set up Ferran Torres to make it 2-2.
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Barcelona, Inter served up an all-time Champions League classic
Raphinha was also credited with another assist for his effort that struck the crossbar before hitting the back of Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer and ending up in the back of the net.
As a result, the Brazilian has 12 goals and nine assists in 13 Champions League matches this season, which saw him pass Lionel Messi for the most contributions in a Champions League season for Barcelona, now on 21.
Raphinha is now level with Cristiano Ronaldo, who managed 21 goal contributions for Real Madrid in 2013-14, so the Brazilian is chasing some incredible history ahead of the second leg with Inter next week.
Barcelona boss Hansi Flick hailed Yamal’s ability to influence big matches when asked about the forward after the contest.
“He showed us the way because making it 2-1 was really important. He’s a fantastic player and you see his quality in big games. It’s great to have him here,” said the German.
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Flick looks ahead to “final before the final” at San Siro
Flick also looked ahead to the second leg at San Siro, as Barcelona and Inter prepare to lock horns once again for the right to face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain in the final of the competition.
“The second leg is still to come and we have to win it. It’s a final before the final. We have 90 minutes to get to the final, our objective. We have a chance,” said the head coach.
“We didn’t start well. We conceded two goals but then we did come back. We have to defend better. They showed that they are a great team with a lot of experience. They took advantage of set pieces. This is the semi-finals of the Champions League and the best team remain. Inter are really good and tough.”
Barcelona will return to domestic action on Saturday evening with a clash against La Liga’s basement side Real Valladolid; Flick’s side are currently top of the La Liga table, four points ahead of second-placed Real Madrid.
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