Inter Milan 1-1 Barcelona: Hits and Flops

Flop #2 Radja Nainggolan

Nainggolan was carrying a knock for Inter Milan

Nainggolan is one of the best holding midfielders in the world. His tenacity, tackling, technique, and box-to-box abilities make him a very effective performer in the middle of the park, while he is also among the very best long range shooters of the ball.

It therefore came as not much of a surprise when Inter Milan paid €38m to get him from Roma and reunite him with former boss Luciano Spalletti, as the 30-year-old had shown his abilities for the last four seasons in the Italian capital.

The Belgian picked up a knock in the derby della Madonnina with AC Milan, and missed the first leg of the clash in Nou Camp. Having only just returned to fitness, he showed signs of match rustiness, as he was uncharacteristically not up to tempo with the match, having been run ragged by Arthur in the middle, and generally failed to stamp his authority on the match.

He was replaced by Borja Vallerro on 63 minutes, and the look on Nainggolan’s face said it all, as he knew he had not put up a performance befitting his high talents, which would hopefully be a thing of the past in the coming weeks when he returns to full fitness.

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Flop #1 Gerard Pique

Gerard Pique

The 28-year-old has been a part of the Barcelona setup for almost two decades, bar a brief two-year period when he went to Manchester United before returning home in 2008 where he has integrated himself fully in all of the club’s triumphs in the most successful period of their illustrious history.

Pique has won everything winnable at both club and national level, and having recently announced his international retirement, it was expected that he would focus fully on his duties in Barcelona’s colours.

While Pique might be one of the most technical astute defenders in history, possessing on the ball skills that many a striker would be proud of, outright defending is not his strongest point. He has been criticized often for failing to effectively marshal the Barcelona backline since the retirement of Carles Puyol.

Against Inter Milan, Barcelona were largely comfortable, as they were so dominant in the opposing half that Ter Stegen was rarely bothered in the Barcelona goal.

On the few occasions that they did threaten though, they caused some scares in the Barca defense. It was because Pique did not impose his authority in the center of defense, and was partly at fault for Inter’s equalizer, not dealing with Vecino's shot, which allowed Icardi shield the ball and make a turn before burying the ball in the back of the net.