Lamine Yamal ends the ‘Messi curse’ in the Champions League

Barcelona and Inter delivered a thrilling first leg of the Champions League semi-final, packed with goals and intensity. Both teams showcased their full potential from the very start, determined to take a crucial step toward the final in Munich.

For the first time since their painful elimination at Anfield by Liverpool, Barcelona returned to a Champions League semi-final. However, history and statistics were not on the Blaugrana’s side.

The last time Barcelona had scored at this stage was thanks to Lionel Messi, whose free kick against Alisson Becker gave Barça a fleeting sense of hope—only for the Reds to stage a dramatic comeback. Until now, that goal remained Barcelona’s most recent in a Champions League semi-final.

Denzel Dumfries’ early strike complicated things for the Catalan side, but despite the setback, they showed grit and composure. Once again, it was Lamine Yamal—still just a teenager—who stepped up to the challenge.

Lamine ends the ‘Messi Curse’ in the Champions League

Messi had been Barcelona’s last semi-final scorer in the competition. But Lamine Yamal broke that drought, paving the way for Ferran Torres and Raphinha—helped by a misstep from Yann Sommer—to lead the goal surge that Barcelona had so desperately missed the last time they reached this stage.

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With that, Yamal becomes the first Barcelona player since Messi to score in a Champions League semi-final—and now sets his sights on doing the same in the final, where Luis Suárez, Neymar, and Rakitic were the last Blaugrana to find the net.

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