Inter Milan striker Marcus Thuram savagely mocked Lamine Yamal on Instagram after his side’s triumphant Champions League victory over Barcelona — before swiftly deleting the post.
The Italian giants edged out an all-time classic at the San Siro on Tuesday, beating Barcelona 4-3 on the night and 7-6 on aggregate to book their place in the Champions League final at the end of the month.
With the score tied at 3-3 heading into Inter’s home leg, the Serie A club struck twice through Lautaro Martinez and Hakan Calhanoglu to claim a two-goal advantage before the break.
The Catalans responded superbly in the second half, netting twice in six minutes through Eric Garcia and Dani Olmo to level the score before Raphinha scored what looked to be the winner for Barcelona in the 87th minute.
But the mad Champions League tie had another twist in the tail, with veteran centre-back Francesco Acerbi scoring a 93rd minute equaliser to force extra time and allow Inter another half an hour to find a winner through substitute Davide Frattesi.
Despite contributing to one of the Champions League’s greatest ever ties, Barcelona’s stars were understandably devastated at the final whistle and consoled by a handful of Inter Milan players.
Inter Milan striker Marcus Thuram savagely mocked Lamine Yamal on Instagram after his side’s triumphant Champions League victory over Barcelona — before swiftly deleting the post
Yamal was consoled by Thuram after Barcelona narrowly lost the historic tie 7-6 on aggregate
‘On a mission ehh!!!’: Thuram’s savage dig called back to Yamal’s post ahead of the semi-final
Thuram, who led the line excellently for Inter throughout the contest, offered his condolences to 17-year-old sensation Yamal after the match as the pair shared a heartfelt moment.
Despite appearing supportive of the young superstar after the game, Thuram later took to social media to troll the Spaniard by ruthlessly calling back to a post Yamal made before the game.
Sharing an image of the two after the match, the Frenchman wrote, ‘On a mission ehh!!’, on his Instagram story with two crying with laughter emojis.
The caption referenced a social media post Yamal shared prior to the semi-final, which read: ‘On a mission’.
Thuram’s post was later deleted and replaced with a different caption: ‘Greatness recognises greatness’.
Despite only being 17 years of age, Yamal has already reached 100 appearances for Barcelona and been lauded as one of the best players in the world.
Although he failed to score in the second leg, the Spanish teenager was a constant threat on Barcelona’s right-hand side and nearly put the game to bed with a long-distance strike off the post before Acerbi’s dramatic late equaliser.
Waxing lyrical about Yamal’s talent before the match, former Man United and England star Wayne Rooney told TNT Sports: ‘He’s incredible. Barcelona tend to have these kind of players.
‘Obviously, (Lionel) Messi and Ronaldinho and (Luis) Figo and Rivaldo and all these players. He’s the latest one. What I love about him is that he’s got no fear.
‘He commits defenders, makes them make a decision and he’s obviously got composure with his goalscoring.
Wayne Rooney lauded Yamal and predicted him to become the next top player in world football
‘I think he’s the next player. We’ve had Messi and (Cristiano) Ronaldo over the last 20 years, he’s the one to take over.’
Inter will take on either Arsenal or PSG in the Champions League final in Munich on May 31, with the Gunners looking to overturn a one-goal deficit in Paris on Wednesday night.
