Young Catalans learn leasons as old as time

HANSI Flick's brilliant young Barcelona side won hearts in this season's Champions League and re-established themselves at Europe's top table, but fell agonisingly short of reaching the Munich final after one of the competition's greatest semi-finals.

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Dusting themselves down from their painful elimination at the hands of Inter Milan on Tuesday, Barca will take pride in knowing the club are closer than ever to ending their decade-long drought in the continent's premier competition.

Barcelona lost 4-3 in extra-time in Milan, with the Italians progressing 7-6 on aggregate after a thrilling rollercoaster of a match in which they threw away a 2-0 lead.

For the first time since 2019 the Catalans made the final four, but they were dreaming of more -- a first Champions League trophy since 2015 and a potential quadruple.

"The players deserve respect, but we are playing to win trophies," said Flick, not content with merely restoring Barcelona's status among the elite.

With the wizardry of Lamine Yamal, the goals of Raphinha and brains of Pedri, pulling strings in midfield, Barcelona have enough to end their wait for the trophy in the post-Lionel Messi era.

An inspired Yann Sommer, a shaky Barca defence missing injured regulars Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde, and Inter's experience ensured they did not.