If Anyone Needed a Reminder: Here's Just How Special Lamine Yamal Is
Before the second leg, the Opta supercomputer gave Barcelona a 56% chance of reaching the final versus 44% for Inter. The probability of a draw in regulation time was 24.3%. Reality turned out differently, but in this chaos there was one player who kept Barcelona afloat for all 120 minutes — Lamine Yamal.
Producing a historic performance at 17 years old, he wrote his name into history: he became the youngest scorer in a Champions League semifinal (17 years 291 days), breaking Kylian Mbappé's record (18 years 140 days, 2017).
Yamal's statistics for the match (120 minutes)
17 touches in the box is an elite figure for a winger. Usually players in his position receive the ball in the box 3–5 times per game. 14% of all his touches came in the opponent's box — for wingers this figure usually stands at 5–8%.
23 duels won — the best figure in a single Champions League match at least since the 2015/16 season. In the entire history of available StatMuse data, no one has won more duels in a single Champions League match than Yamal in this game.
120 minutes, 125 touches, 9 shots. Two shots with xGOT of 0.68 and 0.48 — Sommer made saves that decided the outcome of the tie. The total xGOT of the saves against Yamal: 1.16 — these shots should have brought Barcelona more than one goal.
For context: in the first leg, Yamal had 102 touches — the third-most on the pitch.
Historic record: 14 dribbles
14 successful dribbles — the second-most in Champions League semifinal history since the 2003/04 season. Only Lionel Messi has done more — 16 dribbles against Manchester United in 2008.
Yamal also became the youngest player in Champions League history to complete 14+ dribbles in a single match. He both attempted (11) and successfully completed (6) more dribbles than all of his Barcelona teammates combined (9/5).
Key moments
- Created 2 clear goalscoring opportunities.
- Hit the post in the 90+2nd minute.
- Made an impressive solo run in extra time that was saved by the goalkeeper.
Sommer's words after the match
The last save from Lamine was truly special. He is an incredibly talented player, always trying to cut inside and shoot. I'm just happy that this shot didn't go in. I will remember this save against Yamal for the rest of my life. — Yann Sommer
Zinedine Zidane on Lamine Yamal's performance
Zidane gave this comment at an adidas event, responding to a question about who impressed him in the 2024/25 season.
When you watch him play… Take, for example, the second half of the semifinal against Inter — I've never seen anything like it in my life. It was something exceptional — skill and control over what was happening. It was delightful to watch such confident and mature play. We all derived enormous pleasure from it. That is exactly why Lamine has become a true inspiration for the younger generation. Every era has its own heroes, and that is beautiful. — Zinedine Zidane
P.S. In conclusion, I want to say that over the past few years I have not seen a player who demonstrated such a bright talent and outstanding style of play, not counting Neymar and Messi, and who shows insane results at such a young age and to whom few can offer competition; watching his game is pure pleasure, simply a greatest player.
