Lewandowski 'ready from bench' against Inter, confirms Barca's Flick

Robert Lewandowski will start on the bench for Barcelona in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final decider with Inter Milan after recovering from a hamstring injury, coach Hansi Flick said on Monday.

The 36-year-old Poland captain missed last week's thrilling first leg in Catalonia after picking up the injury against Celta Vigo last month, but will be available as a substitute at the San Siro, where the teams will line up level at 3-3.

"Everything goes in the right way, and he is good, much better than we expected, and he is ready for the bench. So maybe when we need him, he can come in," Flick told reporters. Counting 40 goals this season in all competitions for Barca, Lewandowski's return in a huge boost for Flick.

Lewandowski's absence from the lineup means Ferran Torres is set to start again after doing so in the first leg. The Spaniard, who scored at the Montjuic, will be hoping to be on target again at the San Siro, as Barcelona gun for a potential quadruple.

"We've won two titles, and we have a lot at stake this week," Flick said, referring to the upcoming 'Clasico', which could prove to be decisive for the title battle with Real Madrid. "What I value most is that my players enjoy themselves and are enthusiastic. That makes me proud."

But if Barca want their quadruple dream to come true, they will need a much-improved display in defence. The Catalonia outfit conceded two of their three goals from set-pieces, both of them scored by Inter Milan full-back Dumfries, who also provided the assist for Thuram's opener.

"We coaches analyse everything, from the outside it can look like one thing, and everything has a reason. We want to defend much better, we will change something compared to the first leg," Flick reassured.

While their defence might have lacked in some aspects, Barcelona proved their ability to come back from however many goals down. And Lamine Yamal was the artefact of that. The 17-year-old's brilliance initiated the fightback after going 2-0 down.

"Lamine is a genius. What he does is unbelievable. He presses in the right way. At just 17 years old, he helped us come back in the first leg. He has to show it every time," said the former Bayern Munich manager.