Barcelona and Inter Milan, a week on from their six-goal thriller, put on another vintage Champions League display – but controversy emerged in the 70th minute as the Spanish side were denied a penalty kick despite the contact from Henrikh Mkhitaryan on Lamine Yamal continuing into the box.
Another blockbuster encounter was on display as the two European juggernauts locked horns inside a bouncing San Siro – and Simone Inzaghi’s side burst out of the blocks, scoring within 21 minutes as Lautaro Martinez added the finishing touch.
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Hakan Calhanoglu doubled their lead from 12 yards out on the cusp of half-time, but Barcelona were a different beast in the second 45. Within a six-minute period, Eric Garcia and Dani Olmo both plundered to level the second leg and the tie overall. And then, controversy struck.
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lamine yamal-1
Barcelona, thanks to Yamal’s persistence on the right-hand side, looked to have been given a breakthrough with 20 minutes left on the clock. As sharp as a knife, the teenage phenom breezed past Mkhitaryan, whose extended leg halted proceedings.
The youngster – widely regarded as one of the best players in world football – made a dart for the Inter Milan box in pursuit of a third goal. To prevent misery, ex-Manchester United and Arsenal star Mkhitaryan brought him down and the man in the middle, Szymon Marciniak, pointed to the spot. Watch it below:
The initial contact came outside the 18-yard box – but there were concerns given that Mkhitaryan and Yamal’s clash continued into the danger zone, hence why Marciniak whistled and pointed to the spot, much to the annoyance of the home contingent.
Prompted by those on VAR duty, the Polish referee consulted the pitchside monitor to confirm his game-changing decision – but, upon review, he chalked off the spot kick and insisted that Barcelona should be awarded a free-kick instead.
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Taking to X (formerly Twitter), ESPN’s rules and regulations expert issued reasoning as to why Marciniak reversed his momentum-swinging decision. He admitted that, for a tackle, it’s the initial contact which determines the outcome.
“As I wrote in this week’s VAR review. Key difference. For a tackle, it’s the first contact that causes the foul. Continuing contact into the box from a tackle isn’t a penalty.”
Johnson, ESPN's go-to rule extraordinaire, added extra by claiming that if Mkitaryan (or any other player, for that matter) were to be pulling an opponent and that continued into the box, a penalty would be awarded. "With holding/pulling, it that starts outside and continues into box, that’s a penalty.”
Champions League-chasing Barcelona were, however, unable to benefit from their dead-ball situation – but Raphinha, who is among the leading contenders for the hotly-contested 2025 Ballon d’Or, closed the scoring in the 88th minute after heaps of pressure.
Hansi Flick and his entourage looked to have booked their spot in the Champions League final with just moments left to play. That was until Francesco Acerbi, in scoring his first-ever goal on the European stage, added another tale to this never-ending chapter with a striker's finish.