Hansi Flick Issues Challenge to Lamine Yamal Amid Barcelona Enthusiasm

In the face of unrelenting, undiluted praise, Barcelona manager Hansi Flick challenged Lamine Yamal to “keep going”.

The young prodigy certainly heeded that advice during his individual clashes with Inter’s left wing-back Federico Dimarco in the first leg of Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final. Despite conceding two early goals, Yamal curled in a magnificent shot as Barcelona twice rallied to secure a thrilling 3-3 draw.

Marcus Thuram scored the quickest semi-final goal in Champions League history, Denzel Dumfries executed a scissor kick, and Raphinha achieved another incredible milestone, yet the evening was dominated by the 17-year-old with blonde hair.

Inter manager Simone Inzaghi, treated to his first sight of Yamal in the flesh, dubbed him “a phenomenon born every 50 years”.

“We could have even won this match against a team with a player who is hard to stop,” Inzaghi admitted with a shrug. “We started strongly, but they posed numerous challenges: he caused many issues. He is a player I hadn’t seen live before. We had to assign two players to mark him.”

The admiration wasn’t restricted to those in the stadium. Manchester United forward Alejandro Garnacho hailed Yamal as the “best player in the world” while his Manchester City counterpart, Erling Haaland, took to social media to coo: “This guy is incredible.”

Flick did his best to quell the swell of praise lavished upon his teenage prodigy. “At 17 years old, he’s an unbelievable player and for me the important thing is he keeps going,” the Barcelona boss insisted, before quickly giving into the hyperbole himself.

“I think he’s special. I said it, often before, he’s a genius,” Flick grinned. “He was so important for us in the first half. He created a lot of things and scored the first goal. You know, I know, everyone knows, and after today, that he is a fantastic player.

“He does it always in the big games. In the big matches like the semi-final today, he shows how good he is. This is what we want and need from him. He’s always there. He has to enjoy it too. I am really happy that this talent who comes every 50 years plays for Barcelona.”

Yamal, for his part, isn’t getting carried away just yet. “I try to enjoy myself, I think that’s the secret,” he told CBS Sports after becoming the youngest semi-final goalscorer in Champions League history. “I don’t think about anything and just play the football I have and try to make sure people enjoy watching a game. I haven’t done anything yet; I have a lot to do, and I hope it continues like this.”