Inter Milan 1-2 Barcelona: 3 Reasons Why the Blaugrana won

Barcelona edged past Inter Milan 2-1 at the San Siro to finish their UEFA Champions League group stage campaign on a high, with 14 points in their kitty. The Italian side, on the other hand, were consigned to a spot in the Europa League as they finished 3rd in Group F, courtesy the defeat.

The game began in slightly scrappy fashion as both sides looked to find a foothold in the encounter. However, the visitors settled a touch quicker as they began passing the ball with confidence, especially in the middle third.

Subsequently, the Blaugrana made their dominance count when Carlez Perez coolly slotted past Samir Handanovic in the 23rd minute. Even after the goal, the visitors looked the better outfit as they kept pushing and probing.

However, Inter’s forwards kept producing intermittent sparks and one such moment led to the equaliser when Lautaro Martinez set up Romelu Lukaku for a shot on the edge of the box. The Belgian struck his shot cleanly and it beat Neto, albeit via a tiny deflection.

After the break, the hosts created plenty of opportunities but they failed to make the net ripple again, meaning that they left the back door open for Barcelona to barge through. And, the Blaugrana did so unerringly when Ansu Fati popped up off the bench to thump home the winner.

Here is a look at the three reasons that allowed the visitors to post an important victory.

#3 Barcelona’s fringe players stand up to be counted

Carles Perez scored the opener for Barcelona

Ernesto Valverde shuffled his pack for the trip to Milan and called upon a plethora of fringe players as the likes of Frenkie de Jong, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Sergio Busquets were left on the bench.

Thus, several Blaugrana fans looked at the fixture in trepidation, considering their wretched record on the road and their inability to hold their own against strong counter-attacking sides. However, nothing of that sort materialised as the visitors churned out an impressive performance.

Apart from a few shaky moments, Jean-Clair Todibo looked accomplished in defence whereas Junior Firpo, Moussa Wague and Neto were pretty faultless too. Ivan Rakitic, meanwhile, also seemed assured in the centre of the park and controlled the tempo of the match brilliantly.

However, the most encouraging displays were turned in by Carles Alena and Perez. The pair, despite warming the bench for large stretches of the campaign, looked extremely sharp and provided the spark Barcelona required, especially early in the encounter.

Perez’s direct running and movement caused the Inter rear-guard all sorts of problems as he judiciously chose his moments to come in-field and go on the outside. And, he capped off his outing with a smart finish when presented a loose ball in the penalty area.

As for Alena, the youngster functioned as the ideal link between the midfield and the attack as he drifted into spaces in between the lines and often found himself in threatening positions. More promisingly though, he rarely put a foot wrong and picked the appropriate passing option, more often than not.

Over the past couple of seasons, the Blaugrana have increasingly become a lot more reliant on a certain Messi. And, though that might not change anytime soon, the showing at the San Siro might just convince Valverde to hand his young guns game time and allow them the requisite platform to blossom.

#2 Inter left to rue their missed opportunities

Lukaku was guilty of missing a few chances

Inter came into the encounter having scored 31 goals in 15 league games, thereby signalling that their offensive play was in fine fettle. However, in arguably their biggest game of the season, that particular aspect spectacularly came unstuck as they kept fluffing their lines with alarming regularity.

Early in the match, Danilo D’Ambrosio was accorded a shooting opportunity on the edge of the box. However, the Italian horribly sliced his shot as it sailed well over the bar.

A few minutes later, Lukaku did extremely well to turn Samuel Umtiti inside out. Yet, the Belgian just took a touch too many, thereby allowing a retreating Clement Lenglet to make a last-ditch block. Cristiano Biraghi was also guilty of spurning a chance when shot straight at Neto after being set up by the former Manchester United striker.

After Barcelona scored, Inter tried their best to restore parity but their wastefulness acted as a serious impediment to their goal with D’ Ambrosio missing perhaps their most gilt-edged opening when he headed wide from inside the 6-yard-box.

The trend continued after the restart too as Lukaku and Martinez took turns to wildly swing at their strikes, even at a juncture when a bit of composure and conviction would have done the trick. The former in particular, was culpable for smashing a 1v1 chance straight into Neto’s midriff.

Through the course of the 2019-20 season, Inter have looked a reinvigorated outfit under the tutelage of Antonio Conte, with their attacking play becoming a standout feature.

Yet, when the occasion demanded, they failed to come up trumps, meaning that they now have to save those dazzling displays for the Europa League.

#1 Barcelona’s new system allows them control in midfield

Before the contest began, Valverde sprung a surprise with his line-up as he decided to field a 3-5-2 formation, with Antoine Griezmann and Perez operating as the forwards. Additionally, Alena, Arturo Vidal and Ivan Rakitic manned the midfield as the Blaugrana hoped to ruffle the Italian side’s feathers.

And, the visitors’ tactics worked a charm as the change in system enabled them to dominate the ball in midfield and subsequently, make their way higher up the pitch.

For large swathes of the encounter, Rakitic sat deep as the holding midfielder and orchestrated proceedings, with the Croatian frequently dropping back to collect the ball from the centre-backs. However, with the midfielder shielding the back four at all times, the wing backs were allowed the freedom to venture forward and potentially create situations of numerical superiority.

To put things into further perspective, three at the back enabled them to have four players guarding against the swift counter-attack as opposed to three when fielding a conventional 4-3-3 shape.

Moreover, Griezmann’s tendency to drop into midfield and spread the ball created a numerical advantage in the middle third while the Frenchman also left the Inter centre-backs with no player to mark.

Consequently, the above contributed to Barcelona creating instances where they could move the ball swifter and hope for gaps to open up in the Inter defence, a ploy that ultimately meant that the visitors enjoyed the lion’s share of possession.

Thus, at the San Siro, Valverde had unfurled a strategic masterstroke and one that helped his side emerge victorious. And, while the Spaniard and his tactics have left a lot to be desired previously, Tuesday was probably an occasion where he got it spot on.