'A talent that comes along every 50 years' - 'genius' Yamal steals show

Teenage Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal said he would not compare himself to Lionel Messi - and then put in a performance a 17-year-old Messi could only have dreamed of in one of the all-time great Champions League semi-final ties.

It led to him being called "a genius", "a cheat code" and "a phenomenal talent".

Barca and Inter Milan ended up drawing 3-3 in their epic first-leg encounter, with visiting full-back Denzel Dumfries involved in all three Inter goals, scoring twice, and being named man of the match.

But most of the global headlines will focus on the 17-year-old Yamal, who scored his 22nd goal on his landmark 100th Barcelona game.

He put on a masterclass, especially in the first half to inspire a superb comeback after Inter had led 2-0 by the 21st minute.

Yamal claimed a classy Champions League semi-final goal to go with one in the Euro 2024 last four last summer. Already one of the best players in the world - and before he even turns 18.

"I don't think I have seen a 45 minutes like from one individual before in my life. It is unbelievable," said TNT Sports pundit Ally McCoist as the players walked off the pitch at half-time.

Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi gave Yamal the highest of praise afterwards.

"Lamine is the kind of talent that comes along every 50 years, and to see him up close really impressed me," he said.

"He caused us huge problems because we were supposed to double up on him and it wasn't enough."

Barca boss Hansi Flick said: "He's special, he's a genius. In the big matches, he shows up.

"If it only comes every 50 years like Simone said, I'm glad it's for Barcelona."

BBC pundit Stephen Warnock called him "a future Ballon d'Or winner".

One of the games of the season has everyone excited about the second leg at the San Siro in Milan next week, a change of pace from Paris St-Germain's hard-fought 1-0 win at Arsenal the day before.

There was a bit of drama before the game when Yamal appeared to hurt his groin and went down the tunnel during the warm-up, with speculation that he might not play.

He did start but had barely had an impact before Inter led 2-0 via two fantastic goals - Marcus Thuram's 30-second backheel flick from a Dumfries cross, and Dutchman Dumfries' flying close-range volley.

But then Yamal - who was being double marked - came to life, beating a few Inter players before whipping the ball in off the far post with astonishing ease and confidence.

Moments later, he beat more defenders on the byeline and slammed in a shot which Inter keeper Yann Sommer tipped on to the bar.

Ferran Torres then capped off a fine team move to get Barca level before the break.

Dumfries, though, got his second with a header to put the Italian side back in front.

But moments later Barca were level again as Yamal cleverly dummied a pass and Raphinha lashed a shot in from 25 yards which hit the bar and went in off the back of Sommer for an own goal.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan thought he had made it 4-3 to Inter but his goal was ruled out for a marginal offside.

Yet Yamal almost had the final say, one more memorable moment, when his cross-shot hit the angle of post and bar.

It is tough to even fathom how much Yamal has achieved at his age.

This was his 100th Barcelona appearance, and a 22nd goal to go with four in 19 games for Spain.

Yamal has 27 assists too, including two in Saturday's Copa del Rey final extra-time win over Real Madrid.

The two greatest players of this generation - Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo - did not make their international debuts until they were 18, while Yamal won Euro 2024 the day after his 17th birthday.

Messi scored one goal before he was 18, with Ronaldo bagging five.

Yamal is Barcelona's youngest La Liga player (aged 15) and the youngest to score and assist in La Liga for any team.

He also holds records for being the youngest Champions League starter, youngest player to score in a knockout game, a quarter-final and now a semi-final.

Yamal is Spain's youngest player and goalscorer and the youngest player and goalscorer in a European Championship.

Very few players have had the impact in football by Yamal's age. He will turn 18 in July.

He appears to be the closest thing we have seen to Barcelona and Argentina great Messi, now at Inter Miami and arguably the greatest footballer in history.

The pair both came through the Barca academy, La Masia, and both play on the right wing.

"I don't compare myself to him, because I don't compare myself to anyone - and much less with Messi," Yamal told reporters in the build-up to the game, while also describing the Argentine as "the best player in history".

But Messi was just very, very promising at the age of 17, rather than already regarded as one of the world's best.

Yamal added: "I don't think the comparison makes sense, with Messi even less - I'm going to enjoy myself, and be myself."

But he has an unusual bit of history with Messi, who he was photographed with as a baby.

A photo emerged, external from a charity calendar photoshoot taken at Barcelona's Nou Camp in 2007.

In it, a 20-year-old Messi held baby Yamal and helped him have a bath. Yes really.

The shoot came about after Unicef did a raffle in the town of Mataro where Lamine's family lived.

"We walked down to the city centre and you could tell there is a superstar in this town now in Lamine Yamal," said ex-England defender Rio Ferdinand on TNT Sports.

"There was a void when Messi left, this kid is doing stuff at 17 we have never seen before. The comfort and ease he plays with is remarkable and he is as at ease off the field."

Pundits were in awe at what they saw from Yamal.

Owen Hargreaves, the former Bayern Munich, Manchester United and England midfielder, called him a "cheat code" on TNT.

"I just want to see Lamine Yamal get the ball and everybody else get out of the way," he added.

Former Liverpool and England defender Warnock, watching for BBC's Champions League Match of the Day, said: "He was unplayable at times. His goal was outrageous.

"It's ridiculous watching Yamal. You know, effectively, what he always wants to do – he wants to come inside on his left foot. So you over-compensate and he has got the ability to drag it with his left foot on to his right foot, and he can actually put a decent ball in with his right foot too.

"He is just a phenomenal talent and I love watching him."

And Ferdinand wrote on social media: "As a pure football talent I'm going as far as to say I think Lamine Yamal is on another level to any player playing the game in the top five leagues in world football. Truly unbelievable."

Watch highlights of every Champions League game from 22:00 on Wednesday on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.

There will also be a Champions League Match of the Day on BBC One on Wednesday, from 22:40 to 00:00.