A draw that leaves everything unchanged, but certainly gives Confidence in Inter ahead of the return. Those who expected to see the Nerazzurri of the last matches were left shocked, because Inzaghi's team held their own against Barcelona, taking away a 3-3 very precious both in terms of the result and the game. The Catalans, as was widely expected, created more chances and gave the impression of being much stronger in the offensive phase, but Inter showed all their weaknesses, scoring three goals and coming close to at least as many. If Barça show up at San Siro with the same tactical arrogance they will risk a lot, because defending in midfield against the Nerazzurri can be extremely dangerous.
Barcelona – Inter 3-3: Inzaghi returns home with a draw that gives confidence (but loses Lautaro)
A wonderful match in Montjuic, even better than expected. The first emotion came after just one minute of play, when Barcelona found themselves very unbalanced and Inter took full advantage of it with Thuram, very good at putting Szczesny out of action with a splendid backheel. Barça tried to respond immediately, relying on the quality of their jewels. In the 12th minute Yamal lit up Torres, but the former City player's conclusion went just wide of the post. In the 19th minute it was Torres again who made the Inter fans tremble with a low shot from the outside, following a corner, which again grazed the woodwork. But Inter did not let themselves be intimidated and continued to play with cunning, taking advantage of the open spaces left by the Blaugrana. In the 20th minute Dimarco made a run down the wing and earned the corner for the doubling: Acerbi's tower for Dumfries and spectacular half-overturn for the sensational 0-2. It seemed like the prelude to a triumphal evening, but then he took the stage Yamal laminae. The Spaniard, who is yet to turn 18, freed himself from Mkhitaryan with a feint and unleashed a curling left-footed shot that kissed the post and ended up in the net, awakening Barça from its torpor (24'). A few seconds later, the Blaugrana talent almost equalised with another sensational move, but this time the crossbar said no. The match became electric. Olmo spared Sommer with a central shot, then in the 36th minute the Swiss outdid himself with a dangerous right-footed shot from outside the area. Barça's pressure became unbearable, and in the 38th minute the equaliser arrived: Pedri drew a perfect through ball for Raphinha, who served Torres for the comfortable 2-2 from two steps away.
In the second half, Inzaghi was forced to bring on Taremi for the injured Lautaro (flexor strain, he will almost certainly miss the return match), while Flick tried to sort out the defense with Araujo in place of Martin. But the first chance was once again Inter's with Dimarco, who freed himself to shoot from an excellent position but kicked it very high. The script didn't change: Barça with a suffocating possession of the ball, Inter always ready to sting on the counterattack. And in fact in the 63rd minute the Nerazzurri struck again from a corner, again with Dumfries who scored a personal double, bringing Inter back in front at 3-2. There was no time to celebrate before Barcelona equalised: Raphinha's left, crossbar, rebound on Sommer's back and ball in the net (65').
The challenge remained wide open until the end. Mkhitaryan found the goal for 3-4, but the VAR cancelled it out for a millimetric offside. In the end, it was Barça who came close to winning, first with Yamal (crossbar), then with Raphinha (great save by Sommer). The final 3-3, evidently, leaves everything wide open for the return leg, but the feeling is that Inter are returning home with greater confidence. This Barcelona, in fact, is as strong from the waist up as it is fragile in defense. And the Nerazzurri, as we have already seen against Bayern (and, at least in part, also yesterday), know how to excel precisely against opponents like this.
Inzaghi: “We came close to achieving this feat against the best in the world”
"There is a lot of satisfaction because we played a great game – Inzaghi commented -. Obviously there is a bit of regret for the double advantage and the disallowed goal, which I still don't understand. These episodes can make the difference, but we played a great game against the team that, at the moment, is the strongest in the world. We tried to fix something, but on the other side there was Yamal who is a player I haven't seen for years. Doubling him wasn't enough, then as time went by, tiredness emerged for them too and we did much better. We know how the Catalans play, they make a lot of use of the offside tactic: a risky strategy, which however led them to almost win everything and score 150 goals. We played a very organized game, otherwise we wouldn't have come out of this match with a draw. We did a great test, now on Tuesday there will be a final and whoever wins will then go on to play another one. Lautaro? He felt a little problem, he had been playing from the start in high intensity matches for eight games in a row. We hope to have him for the return match, but it will be very difficult and I have some doubts”.
Flick: “We have to win in Milan, it will be a final before the final”
“We didn’t start well, conceding two goals, but we managed to recover and played much better in the second half,” Flick said. “It was great for the fans, but it was only the first meeting between the two teams. Now we have to win in Milan, It will be a final before the final. We are talking about a Champions League semi-final, with great teams. They have experience, they were better on set pieces, they played very well and took advantage of it. Yamal? He showed once again that he is a great player, he opened the way for us by scoring the 1-2 which was very important. We must continue to fight until the end”.
