FC Barcelona went up against Inter Milan on 30th, April at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium. This was the first-leg tie of the UEFA Champions League semi-final tie between both sides. FC Barcelona played the semi-final fixture of this European Competition after seven long years. The tie was a dramatic one, with both teams performing a high-scoring performance with the score ending 3-3. Barcelona was in great form coming into this fixture winning in La Liga and the Catalans recently lifted the Copa Del Rey title before this game. On the other hand, Inter came into this game with three consecutive defeats. Two defeats in the Serie A against AS Roma and Bologna, and a 3-0 defeat against arch-rivals AC Milan in the Italian Cup. Despite Inter’s form, they gave Barcelona a tough time and exposed many weak areas the Catalans should improve in the second leg to progress into the final.
How Inter Exposed Barcelona?
Hansi Flick’s high defensive line strategy was quite successful for Barcelona until recent games, where the team conceded a plethora of goals failing to coordinate with the tactic. But no team ever exposed this high line as Inter did in the first leg. They had a clear plan to create and spread disorganized spaces on the field. They exploited Barcelona’s left flank where inexperienced Gerard Martin was present, and made use of their physical strength against weak Barcelona players. They attacked from inside more often than using the wide areas of the pitch, they started from the center and then used the width to stretch Barcelona’s back-line.
Inter targetted their main strikers Lautaro and Thurram during buildup plays, both offering strong hold of the possession, which was useful to bypass Barcelona’s high-defensive structure. Lautaro and Thurram’s physical strength was unmatched by Barcelona’s defensive duo, with both Inigo and Cubarsi winning only 20% of aerial duels, and Barcelona’s weak link Gerard Martin losing all his duels. We witnessed that unlike other teams Barcelona faced, Inter preferred to cross the ball early into the box, before Barcelona’s goalkeeper and defense could close the space in the box.
A close call for the fourth goal was another example of how Inter crossed the ball early on. Whenever Inter won the possession, they would force Barcelona’s defense to overload the central areas of the field. This forced Gerard Martin and Jules Kounde to move in the center, making Barcelona’s structure narrower, and allowing Inter’s explosive runners Dimarco and Dumfries to take a run using the free width. The main problem we faced and would likely suffer in the second leg would be set-pieces. Inter have extremely tall and strong players in their squad compared to Europe. On the other hand, Barcelona are poor at defending set-pieces. Barcelona needs to be alert, especially the goalkeeper to clear the danger as soon as possible.
These are the weak points we need to work on before going into the second leg. Many people are saying this is over for Barcelona, but Barcelona should be trusted. There are very few teams in the world who could come back from a two-goal deficit in the semi-finals in the first half. The fighting spirit should be evident if we intend to win the Champions League.