Alessandro Bastoni and Simone Inzaghi believe that stopping Lamine Yamal from Barcelona in their Champions League semi-final second stage on Tuesday will be crucial for Inter.
Yamal played in the first stage for Hansi Flick's team and ran a stunning solo goal when Barcelona flipped back last week to draw 3-3 in the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Company.
Indeed, the Spaniard only became the second teenager who scored in the last 16, quarterfinals and semi-final within one Champions League campaign, after Kylian Mbappe for Monaco in 2016-17.
Yamal has yielded six goals in the competition this season. Only Erling Haaland (10 in 2019-2020), Mbappe (six in 2016-17) and Raul (six in 1995-96) scored more in a single season before they turned 20.
His 44 shots, 19 shots on goal and 78 dribbles are also the most opta that has been recording since 2003-04 by a teenager in a single Champions League campaign.
And Bastoni, who was confronted with Yamal at last year's European championships, has since expressed his admiration for the rapid progression of the 17-year-old.
“I had already confronted him with Spain and he was not yet at this level,” Bastoni told a press conference on Monday.
“I was impressed by the level he reached, for his age and the ability to create incredible things on the field. I think he is now one of the best in the world.
“We will have to double, maybe Triple (Mark) as we sometimes did in the first stage, but without exaggerating, otherwise we would create too many spaces. Barcelona is not just Yamal.”
The exciting first leg, filled with early drama and late chaos, set the stage on Tuesday for an exciting second stage in the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
Their previous match was indeed the joint-highest score training in a semi-final match of the Champions League, in addition to the 3-3 draw of Dyanmo Kyiv with Bayern Munich in the first stage in 1998-99.
It was only the third time that Inter had not succeeded in winning a Champions League match, after led two or more goals.
However, Inter is unbeaten in their last 15 home Champions League matches (W12 D3), their best undefeated home in large European competition since a series of 27 between 1980 and 1987, but Bastoni recognized the task for him.
The 26-year-old Italian compared their meeting on the second leg with “Game Seven in the NBA Finals”.
“It is 50-50, all open, and I think it will be a similar game from the first stage, so I am glad we will play for our fans,” said Bastoni.
“I can only be proud of how far we got. We are two games away from winning the Champions League. It is our goal, we really want to make a good impression to make the people who follow us happily.
“We are sure that our fans will give us a big hand in the San Siro. We live for this kind of moments.”
Intermanager Inzaghi agreed with Bastoni's comments and revealed that their defensive strategy would focus on destroying Yamal's threat.
“(Defending Yamal) is very difficult, we will have to try not to let him get the ball, but that is impossible in modern football,” said Inzaghi.
“He will be closely marked, he will be double marked and we will try to be careful. But, as I said in the first stage, after he saw him live live, he is a huge talent: at his age he is really dangerous.
“At difficult moments they give him the ball, and I was impressed by his quick thinking. When he receives the ball, he already knows what to do.”
17 – Op 17 years and 291 days, Lamine Yamal is the youngest player who scores in an @championsLeague Semi -Final, who exceeds Kylian Mbappé in 2017 (18 years and 140 days).
Leader. pic.twitter.com/tor97cxbx3
– Optajose (@Optajose) April 30, 2025
Inzaghi was also present to offer an injury update about Benjamin Pavard and Captain Lautaro Martinez.
Pavard missed the last two games with an ankle problem, while Martinez went off with Barca during the trek in last week's draw.
The Inter Boss confirmed that both players were both in training again, but were not sure of their involvement in Tuesday's game.
“Together with the medical staff and the players, we will decide on Lautaro (Martinez) and Pavard. They will have to tell me how they feel,” said Inzaghi.
“On Sunday, Pavard participated in the first part of the training and felt it good. Lautaro has not trained anymore since Barcelona, so we will see how things are going today.”