After last week’s thrilling first leg, European heavyweights Inter Milan and Barcelona reconvene on Tuesday, to conclude their Champions League semi-final.
Having shared six goals in Spain, they will meet again for the second leg at San Siro, with Inter aiming to take one step closer to a fourth continental crown and Barca ultimately seeking their sixth.
Match preview
As the competition’s meanest defence tackled its most explosive attack, a chaotic contest played out in Catalonia last Wednesday.
Setting the tone for a stone-cold classic, Marcus Thuram‘s clever flick put Inter ahead in the first leg, scoring the fastest semi-final goal in Champions League history after just 30 seconds.
Then, having produced only one goal in his first 39 appearances at Europe’s elite level, wandering wing-back Denzel Dumfries found the net twice either side of Lamine Yamal‘s stunner – but Barcelona bit back, also striking three times at Montjuic.
Despite losing a two-goal lead, the Italian giants were relatively content to settle for a draw against Yamal-inspired hosts, with home advantage on their side in this week’s return leg.
Simone Inzaghi‘s side had conceded just five times and kept eight clean sheets en route to the semi-finals – matching Barca’s 19 points in the league phase, then beating Feyenoord before ending Bayern Munich’s hopes of reaching a home final – but they struggled to keep the Blaugrana at bay.
Of course, Inter overcame Barca in the semis when they last won the Champions League, back in 2010, as Jose Mourinho‘s experienced team prevailed 3-2 on aggregate before lifting the trophy against Bayern a few weeks later.
Inzaghi’s squad has a similar age profile to that vintage side, and despite some recent setbacks they have been tough to defeat: unbeaten in their last 15 home matches in UEFA’s top competition, winning 12, they are a formidable force at San Siro.
Historically, the Nerazzurri have also won nine of their last 11 home semi-final games in Europe, and another success would see the 2023 runners-up meet either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain in this season’s decider.
Recent form, though, suggests that may not be straightforward: Saturday’s unconvincing 1-0 win over Hellas Verona may have ended a five-match winless streak, but the Scudetto holders still trail Serie A leaders Napoli in a close-fought title race.
While Inter’s treble hopes were ended by last month’s Coppa Italia loss to city rivals AC Milan, Barcelona are still on track for three trophies – in addition to their Spanish Super Cup success earlier this season.
Having beaten old foes Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final, the Catalan club are also leading Los Blancos in La Liga, with just four games to the finish line following Saturday’s 2-1 win over rock-bottom Real Valladolid.
Barca have now won 24 of their last 30 matches – only losing to Borussia Dortmund in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, when the tie was essentially over – and their lightning-fast attack is feared across the continent.
After his superb strike last week, Lamine Yamal has scored five Champions League goals this term, with only Erling Haaland (10 in 2019-20), Kylian Mbappe (six in 2016-17) and Raul (six in 1995/96) managing more in one season as a teenager.
Raphinha is setting all kinds of records, too. The brilliant Brazilian has had a hand in 20 goals so far, with only Cristiano Ronaldo in 2013-14 (17 goals, four assists) faring better in a single campaign.
All told, Hansi Flick‘s team have scored 40 times in this season’s edition, closing in on an overall record set by Barca themselves in 1999-00 (45). So, having impressed under Flick – a former winner with Bayern – Barcelona are now bidding to reach the final for a first time since claiming their fifth European Cup in 2015.
Yet, history is not exactly on their side ahead of the second leg: not only have the Blaugrana lost their last four semi-final games away from home, but they have also managed just two away wins at this stage of the competition while losing on 11 occasions.
Furthermore, Barcelona have come out on top only once in their six clashes with Inter at San Siro, forming part of a dismal record against Serie A sides: they have posted a mere five wins from 24 Champions League trips to the Italian peninsula.
Team News
Due to a hamstring injury sustained during the first leg, Inter are set to be without top scorer Lautaro Martinez – opening up an opportunity for either Mehdi Taremi or Marko Arnautovic – while French defender Benjamin Pavard joins his skipper on the treatment table.
Midfield metronome Hakan Calhanoglu is available, though, after serving a domestic suspension in Saturday’s home win over Verona, when Simone Inzaghi completely rotated his squad.
Kristjan Asllani converted an early penalty as a much-changed XI ended the Nerazzurri’s winless run, but established stars such as Denzel Dumfries, Marcus Thuram, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and goalkeeper Yann Sommer will now return to the starting lineup.
Barca boss Hansi Flick also made several changes at the weekend, prioritising this second leg and an upcoming El Clasico clash with Real Madrid – most notably, Marc-Andre ter Stegen made his first start since returning from a long layoff.
Vastly experienced goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny should regain the gloves, while Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Pau Cubarsi and co will also be recalled at San Siro, but first choice right-back Jules Kounde again misses out through injury.
In better news for the Blaugrana, Robert Lewandowski and Alejandro Balde are both close to returning to action and could be named on the bench.
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Sommer; Bisseck, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Arnautovic, Thuram
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Szczesny; Garcia, Araujo, Cubarsi, Martinez; De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Torres
We say: Inter Milan 1-2 Barcelona (Barcelona win 5-4 on aggregate)
Both of the last two games between these teams have ended 3-3, and there is every reason to expect more goals on this occasion, with such a big prize at stake.
Out of form and ageing, once-solid Inter are creaking at the seams; Barca have their own flaws, but the Catalans can leave Milan victorious due to their incredibly potent attack.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
