Denzel Dumfries played a big role in scoring 5 of the 13 goals across both matches. The Dutch right wing-back helped stop Barcelona’s strong form and led Inter Milan to the Champions League final. In both attack and defense, Dumfries performed really well in both games. His great play was a key reason why Inter reached the final.
Dumfries wasn’t expected to play in the semi-finals because he was out with an injury for a long time. But he made a strong return in the first leg against Barcelona. He impressed everyone by giving an assist in just 30 seconds and then scoring two goals in the same match.
In the second leg at home, Dumfries played even better. He made two assists in the 4-3 win. With that, the Dutch player made Champions League history — only three other players have ever done what he did.
Only four players have scored at least 2 goals and made 2 assists across both legs of a Champions League semi-final. The first to do this was Italian football legend Alessandro Del Piero in 1998. In the first leg against Monaco, he scored 3 goals and gave 1 assist. In the second leg, he added 1 goal and 1 assist. Altogether, he finished with 4 goals and 2 assists in that semi-final.
Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino from Liverpool were the last players to achieve this. In 2018, during the semi-final against Roma, Salah scored 2 goals and gave 2 assists. Firmino also did well, scoring 2 goals and making 3 assists in the same match-up.
Now, Dumfries has joined them. He scored 2 goals and made 3 assists in both legs of the 2025 semi-final against Barcelona. This is the first time in 7 years that a player has done this, and it’s the first time in 27 years for someone from an Italian league team.
The semi-final match between Barcelona and Inter Milan made history with a new Champions League record. It became the highest-scoring semi-final ever, with both teams scoring a total of 13 goals across two games. This tied the previous record set in 2018 when Roma and Liverpool also scored 13 goals in their semi-final. In both cases, the final score was 7-6. Liverpool reached the final in 2018, and Inter Milan did so in 2025.
