BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Lamine Yamal's curler that went in off the post after the teenager's great dribble? Marcus Thuram's nifty back-heeled flick? Raphinha's missile that hit the bar and the goalkeeper before finding the net?
And don’t forget Denzel Dumfries’ bicycle kick, before he scored again with a powerful header.
You have your pick of great goals from Barcelona and Inter Milan’s thrilling 3-3 draw to start their Champions League semifinal on Wednesday, setting up a must-see sequel next week in Milan.
Opta Stats said it was joint-highest highest score for a draw in a Champions League semifinals since Bayern Munich and Dynamo Kiev finished with the same score in April 1999.
What was supposed to be a contrast of styles between the top-scoring Barcelona and the stingiest defense in the competition turned into a shootout.
Inter matched Barcelona's firepower with two goals from corner kicks, and the hosts needed another stellar performance from 17-year-old Yamal in his 100th appearance for his club.
Except for Inter’s start and strength in set pieces, Barcelona imposed its game and had 66% possession and created 10 shots on goal to Inter’s three, according to UEFA's stats — but had to settle for a draw.
Thuram was a doubt for the starting 11 after missing Inter’s previous three matches — all losses without a goal. But the striker used the back of his heel to turn in a cross by Dumfries to stun the hosts just seconds after kickoff.
Dumfries then put Inter into what appeared to be a comfortable lead when he scored his first of two goals with a bicycle kick after a corner kick was headed onto him in the 21st.
Yamal sparked Barcelona into action in the 24th when he dribbled past two defenders and sliced a shot in off the far post. He went close to an equalizer moments later after gliding down the endline and firing a shot with just a sliver off an angle off the crossbar.
“Yamal is a fantastic player, in the big matches you can see his quality, and he showed it today,” Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said about his forward.
“At 2-0 down," he continued, "I knew that this was a semifinal between great clubs and I knew that the huge experience they have was being demonstrated. They are good at set plays too, but Lamine showed us the way forward. His goal to make it 2-1 was so important.”
Ferran Torres rammed in a headed pass by Raphinha to equalize for Barcelona in the 38th.
Inter suffered another blow when Lautaro Martínez had to be substituted at halftime, but Dumfries charged in to head home a corner kick to put Inter back ahead in the 63rd.
Raphinha needed two minutes to pull Barcelona level again when his blistering shot from outside the top of the box struck the crossbar, ricocheted off the back of goalkeeper Yann Sommer and found the net.
“Playing at home, we had the obligation to win,” Raphinha said. “But the result is not that bad and we will prepare for the second game so we come out on top.”
Barcelona is trying to reach its first final since 2015, when it collected its fifth title. In its first season under Flick, the Spanish club is also trying to repeat the treble of major trophies it won a decade ago.
Simone Inzaghi’s Inter is aiming for its second final in three years, after losing to Manchester City in the trophy match in 2023.
The last time three-time winner Inter lifted the European Cup it beat Barcelona at the same stage in 2010.
The winner will face either Paris Saint-Germain or Arsenal in Munich on May 31. PSG beat Arsenal 1-0 in London on Tuesday in their first match.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Joseph Wilson, The Associated Press
