Inter must stop Yamal to reach Champions League final, says Bastoni

Alessandro Bastoni and Simone Inzaghi judge stopping Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal successful their Champions League semi-final 2nd limb volition beryllium important for Inter connected Tuesday.

Yamal starred for Hansi Flick’s squad successful the archetypal leg, netting a stunning solo extremity arsenic Barcelona fought backmost to gully 3-3 astatine the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys past week.

Indeed, the Spaniard became conscionable the 2nd teen to people successful the past 16, quarter-final and semi-final wrong a azygous Champions League campaign, aft Kylian Mbappe for Monaco successful 2016-17.

Yamal has netted six goals successful the contention this season. Only Erling Haaland (10 successful 2019-20), Mbappe (six successful 2016-17) and Raul (six successful 1995-96) person scored much successful a azygous play earlier turning 20.

His 44 shots, 19 shots connected people and 78 dribbles are besides the astir Opta has connected grounds since 2003-04 by a teen successful a azygous Champions League campaign.

And Bastoni, who faced Yamal astatine past year’s European Championships, expressed his admiration for the 17-year-old’s accelerated progression since.

“I had already faced him with Spain, and helium was not yet astatine this level,” Bastoni told a property league connected Monday.

“I was impressed by the level helium reached, for his property and quality to make unthinkable things connected the pitch. I deliberation helium is among the champion successful the satellite close now.

“We’ll person to double, possibly triple (mark) him similar we did astatine times successful the archetypal leg, but without exaggerating, different we would make excessively galore spaces. Barcelona is not conscionable Yamal.”

The electrifying archetypal leg, that was filled with aboriginal play and precocious chaos, has acceptable the signifier for a thrilling 2nd limb astatine the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza connected Tuesday.

Indeed, their erstwhile lucifer was the joint-highest people gully successful a Champions League semi-final game, alongside Dyanmo Kyiv’s 3-3 gully with Bayern Munich successful the archetypal limb backmost successful 1998-99.

It was conscionable the 3rd clip that Inter had failed to triumph a Champions League game, having led by 2 oregon much goals.

Inter,, however, are unbeaten successful their past 15 location Champions League matches (W12 D3), their champion unbeaten location streak successful large European contention since a tally of 27 betwixt 1980 and 1987, but Bastoni acknowledged the task up of him.

The 26-year-old Italian likened their second-leg brushwood to “game 7 successful the NBA finals”.

“It’s 50-50, each open, and I deliberation it volition beryllium a akin crippled from the archetypal limb truthful I’m gladsome that we volition play successful beforehand of our fans,” Bastoni said.

“I tin lone beryllium arrogant of however acold we person come. We are 2 games distant from winning the Champions League. It is our goal, we truly privation to marque a bully impression, to marque the radical who travel america happy.

“We are definite that our fans volition springiness america a large manus astatine the San Siro. We unrecorded for moments similar this.”

Inter manager Inzaghi agreed with Bastoni’s comments, revealing that their antiaircraft strategy would absorption connected nullifying the menace of Yamal.

“(Defending Yamal) is precise difficult, we’ll person to effort not to fto him get the ball, but that’s intolerable successful modern football,” Inzaghi said.

“He’ll beryllium intimately marked, he’ll beryllium double-marked, and we’ll effort to beryllium careful. However, arsenic I said successful the archetypal leg, having seen him live, he’s a immense talent: astatine his age, he’s truly dangerous.

“In hard moments, they manus him the ball, and I was impressed by his speedy thinking. When helium receives the ball, helium already knows what to bash next.”

17 – At 17 years and 291 days, Lamine Yamal is the youngest subordinate to people successful a @ChampionsLeague semi-final, surpassing Kylian Mbappé successful 2017 (18 years and 140 days).

Leader. pic.twitter.com/TOR97CXBx3

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) April 30, 2025

Inzaghi was besides connected manus to supply an wounded update connected Benjamin Pavard and skipper Lautaro Martinez.

Pavard has missed the past 2 games with an ankle issue, portion Martinez went disconnected astatine half-time successful past week’s gully with Barca.

The Inter brag confirmed that some players were some backmost successful archetypal squad training, but was unsure connected their engagement successful Tuesday’s match.

“We volition determine connected Lautaro (Martinez) and Pavard unneurotic with the aesculapian unit and the players. They volition person to archer maine however they feel,” Inzaghi said.

“On Sunday, Pavard participated successful the archetypal portion of grooming and felt okay. Lautaro hasn’t trained since Barcelona, truthful we’ll spot contiguous however it goes.”