Champions League: All to know ahead of Barca-Inter semifinal decider

Al Jazeera

05-05-2025

Who: Inter Milan vs Barcelona
What: UEFA Champions League semifinal, second leg
Where: San Siro stadium, Milan, Italy
When: Tuesday at 9pm (19:00 GMT)
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Five-time UEFA Champions League winners Barcelona travel to northern Italy to play three-time title holders Inter Milan in a tantalising second and deciding leg of their semifinal on Tuesday night.
The Catalan Giants remain on track for a rare treble – LaLiga, Copa del Rey and Champions League titles – but walked away from the opening leg of their Champions League semifinal at the Barcelona Olympic Stadium with just a draw against Inter, leaving them with it all to do on the road in Milan.
Inter, who are bidding to make a second Champions League final in three seasons, will like their chances of getting past the flamboyant LaLiga leaders on home soil. But the Nerazzurri were far from their best on Saturday, forging a slender 1-0 home win against 15th-placed Verona in a domestic Serie A league fixture at the San Siro.
Here is all to know before the semifinal decider between two of Europe's football superclubs:
Barcelona twice battled back to share a compelling 3-3 draw at home against Inter Milan on April 30.
The Italian side raced to a two-goal lead with superb strikes from Marcus Thuram and Denzel Dumfries before the unstoppable Lamine Yamal pulled Barca back into it with a sublime solo effort.
Ferran Torres levelled for the five-time champions, and although Inter nosed ahead through Dumfries again, a Yann Sommer own goal left the tie on a knife-edge heading into the second leg.
Playing his 100th game at just 17 years and 291 days old, Yamal became the youngest player to score in a UEFA Champions League semifinal against Inter on Wednesday, eclipsing the record set by Kylian Mbappe, who was 18 when he achieved the feat in 2017.
Inter manager Simone Inzaghi said talents like the Barcelona teenager come around only once in a half-century.
'He's the kind of talent who is born every 50 years, I had never seen him live, and he really impressed me today,' the Inter coach said after Yamal helped Barcelona rally in the action-packed first leg.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick described his attacking winger as 'a genius' after the match.
Before the first leg, Yamal himself was forced to dismiss comparisons to the great Lionel Messi, who played the same position at Barcelona.
'I don't compare myself to him because I don't compare myself to anyone – and much less with Messi,' Yamal told reporters.
'So I don't think the comparison makes sense – with Messi even less. I'm going to enjoy myself, and be myself.'
Yamal said he thought the Argentinian forward was the greatest player of all time.
'I admire him obviously as the best player in history, but I don't compare myself to him,' he reiterated.
Barcelona starting defender Jules Kounde is set to miss the Champions League semifinal second leg clash with Inter after he was diagnosed with a hamstring injury on Thursday.
Unexpectedly, Flick may be able to call on star striker Robert Lewandowski, who is ahead of schedule on what was expected to be a three-week recovery period from a leg injury. Lewandowski was included in the squad on Monday after being sidelined for about two weeks.
Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny is tipped to start against Inter despite first-choice keeper Marc-Andre ter Steg's return to the first XI in a LaLiga fixture at the weekend after a long injury layoff.
Inter head into their second leg showdown at the San Siro with the availability of top scorer Lautaro Martinez highly questionable after the Argentina star suffered a leg injury against Barcelona last Wednesday. Inzaghi will have Mehdi Taremi or Marko Arnautovic on standby to replace Martinez in the starting lineup.
But confidence is growing in the Inter camp that Martinez will play, according to Italian media reports on Monday. Lautaro himself posted a cryptic message on Instagram: a photo of him doing exercises in the gym, captioned with emojis of an hourglass and a battery.
In a separate positive development for Inter, key defender Benjamin Pavard, who missed the first leg of the semifinal against Barca, is set to return to the starting XI, according to reporting from the Italian media outlet Gazzetta.it.
Star midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu is available for selection after sitting out Inter's 1-0 victory over Verona with a suspension.
Barcelona possible XI: Szczesny; Eric, Araujo, Cubarsi, Inigo; de Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Ferran
Inter Milan possible XI: Sommer; Acerbi, Pavard, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Arnautovic, Thuram
The teams have played on 13 prior occasions:
Hansi Flick, Barcelona manager: '[In the second leg] Inter can't just defend. They have to try and score too. It's the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League and the four best teams in Europe are there. We play with style and confidence, and we know what we can do. We have 90 minutes next week, and hopefully that's enough to get to the final. That's our goal, and we will fight for it.'
Simone Inzaghi, Inter Milan manager: 'We saw a fantastic match [in the first leg] and we knew that semifinals are difficult. We could even have won. I really liked the impact that our subs had. Our fans know that we've been giving our utmost in difficult times and we know that Tuesday will be a 'final'.'
Barcelona most recently won in 2015 while Inter Milan last tasted victory in 2010.
The winner of this semifinal heads to Germany on May 31 for the Champions League final.
European football's largest annual showpiece will be played at the 75,000-capacity Allianz Arena in Munich.