UEFA Champions League 2018-19: 5 Takeaways for Barcelona in their 1-1 draw with Inter Milan

#5 Reasonable result due to Messi's absence

Barca still needs to work on a lot of things

Still recovering from the injury he got against Sevilla, Lionel Messi flew with the team to Milan as a sign of support to his teammates.

However, fans saw this as a positive and a negative thing as they had a glimmer of hope in seeing Messi play but might risk a relapse in his injury.

Lionel Messi watched on from the stands as Barcelona were held by Inter Milan at the San Siro pic.twitter.com/Xr0w9yfiP0

— Lilian Chan (@bestgug) November 6, 2018

Valverde took the wiser approach of resting the five-time Balon d'Or winner for their upcoming matches. With that decision, he missed out a prolific scorer upfront to partner up with Suarez which then forced him to partner Dembele with the Uruguayan.

Though they were the first club to qualify for the Round of 16 of the Champions League this season, they still have a lot to polish in their tactics to make it to greater heights without relying on Messi.

Props to Coutinho for dictating the majority of the match as he was a constant threat against Nerazzurri. With him being their go-to guy aside from Suarez during Messi's absence, it builds up the confidence of the Brazilian and fits him more into the system.

First off, my MOTM: Philippe Coutinho. The Brazilian had his best game of the season. Doing the things I accused him of not doing. He was structural influential in our play, asking the ball and creating opportunities to score.

— NW. 🖐🏽 (@NuelWeinchard) November 6, 2018