Lamine Yamal put in a performance for the ages in an instant Champions League classic in the first leg last week.
The 17-year-old’s display will likely have given Inter Milan’s defenders – and head coach Simone Inzaghi – a few nightmares in the six nights that have since passed.
Inzaghi admits it will be impossible to stop Yamal entirely in the second leg, and instead says his team hopes to just prevent him from impacting the game as much as possible.
“It’s difficult to handle him, we will try to limit the ball getting to him, but it is impossible,” Inzaghi told reporters. “He will be doubled, but we know he is very dangerous. He thinks so quickly, it’s unbelievable.”
Inter defender Alessandro Bastoni echoed his manager’s comments.
“It won’t be easy,” Bastoni told Prime Sport when asked how they will stop Yamal. “He’s a very strong player. Like I said after the first leg, at the moment, he is perhaps the best in the world alongside two or three other players.
“It won’t be easy, but Barcelona aren’t just Lamine Yamal. They have several top players. Robert Lewandowski, for example, so we will have to try to defend at our best to stop him from having a good game.”
After a thrilling first leg, Inzaghi has now seen first-hand how devastating Barcelona’s front line can be but also knows that their defense can be susceptible to conceding goals, in particular with Jules Koundé and Alejandro Balde missing the second leg due to injury.
“We all know the importance of the match,” Inzaghi added. “We must put on a big display against a very good team. We showed our strength. We will need to be determined and ready.
“They usually have an average of 80% possession, we know their qualities well and we know they take some risks in defense. They have a great coach and have already won two trophies (the Spanish Super Cup and the Copa del Rey), we will need a big display.”
