The key to beating Barça? Inter reveals its plan to stop Lamine Yamal

Inter Milan hosts FC Barcelona this Tuesday for the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, a true 'final' ahead of the decisive clash in Munich where the 'Nerazzurri' side will have the home advantage.

In the pre-match press conference, Simone Inzaghi admitted that one of the keys to the match involves trying to 'stop' Lamine Yamal, by far the best player in the Blaugrana attack during the first leg at Montjuïc (he was involved in two of the three Culé goals, scoring the first one).

According to the Inter coach, the objective is to try to ensure the ball "reaches him as little as possible" - referring to the number '19'. In his post-match statements last Wednesday, the Italian coach had already sung the praises of the youngster, whom he described as "a 'phenom' ('crack') the likes of which are born only every 50 years".

Inter will deploy up to three players to defend Lamine Yamal!

"Seeing him live, he's a huge talent, truly very dangerous. I was impressed by his speed of thought; he always knows what play to make," Inzaghi began by saying.

Therefore, the manager admitted that his players will continuously double-team him, as he is a player who requires "all possible attention". In this regard, one of the leaders of Inter's defense, Alessandro Bastoni, also praised the Barça winger.

"Lamine Yamal is the best player I have played against. His ability to create chances is the best I've ever seen. We have to double or triple-team him," commented the Italian defender.

Lamine Yamal, celebrating his goal against Inter Milan

Furthermore, Bastoni made clear what this match means for the club. "We know there's a lot at stake and we are very focused. The group is really looking forward to it. All the 'Nerazzurri' fans are waiting for this match," he added.

In Lamine's case, the youngster has tallied 5 goals and 4 assists in 12 matches in the current Champions League campaign. Besides the goal in the first leg against Inter, the number '19' scored against Monaco (2-1), Atalanta (2-2), Benfica (3-1), and Borussia Dortmund (4-0), meaning he has scored a goal in each knockout stage tie.

Lewandowski and Raphinha will look to exploit Inter's 'obsession' with Lamine

Raphinha, celebrating a goal with Lewandowski and Lamine

However, Inter's plan to 'stop' Lamine carries a huge risk, as it involves intensifying efforts to focus their marking towards the right flank.

This will allow Dani Olmo and Raphinha to have more space to do damage down the left and in front of the penalty area, where the presence of Robert Lewandowski can also make the difference.

The Pole (11 goals in 12 matches), unlike Ferran Torres, is a more positional number '9', and this will force at least two of Inter's three center-backs to be much more attentive in the center of the box.

Indeed, 'Lewy' is characterized by his ability to finish with one or two touches, in addition to dragging defenders throughout the match.

In that sense, no matter how much effort Inter puts into neutralizing Lamine Yamal, the devastating Culé attack has plenty of options to hurt the 'Nerazzurri' defense. Barça has already scored 160 goals in 55 matches in the 24/25 season, 40 of them in 13 Champions League appearances.

No less important will be having Fermín López and Ferran Torres on the bench, two players who are sharp in front of goal and tend to be highly effective impact substitutes for Hansi Flick.

Without the away goal rule, Barcelona and Inter must win the match to qualify. Any draw will send the tie to extra time and, if necessary, penalties.

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