Internazionale – Barcelona: Simone Inzaghi And Nerazzuri To Munich (4-3)

Champions League best attack kept practicing its habits. However, defense remained a question mark for both contenders over both legs. As a result, Internazionale against Barcelona yielded another high-scoring thriller. Nevertheless, Nerazzurri came out triumphant to book a ticket to Munich.

Tactical analysis and match report by Achraf Lamdarhri.

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Millimeters separated Inter from taking the win over Barcelona to San Siro, as semi-automated technology ruled out Inter’s fourth goal due to Mkhitaryan’s boots being offside. The Armenian jested that next time he would tell the kitman to hand him a smaller shoe size. On the other side, Lamine Yamal delivered a worldy cementing his performance as one of the most impressive to be ingrained in the minds.

Both managers took their teams out of a hibernating state, from the dim of darkness to the sunshine of light. Since he joined Inter, Simone Inzaghi has won with the Nerazzurri three Italian Super Cups, two Italian Cups, and a single league title. Not only that, but Inter was so close to throning their effort with the UCL Champions League title against Manchester City in the 2022–23 season, when they made the Citizens bleed for their treble. Back then, they came close to taking the game into extra time but flew back home with the nimbus of a group of players who put their names back to where Inter belongs.

Amid all the financial struggles and the fiasco surrounding Barcelona, Hansi Flick dared to assume responsibility for leading the Catalans back to their glorious era. In his first season, yet to be completed, the German manager brought the best out of a young squad, winning two trophies already, the Spanish Super Cup and Copa del Rey. Under his management, Barcelona returned to the semi-final of the Champions League since the Anfield disaster in 2019. In addition, Barcelona seems to claim LaLiga’s title should they keep the four-point difference with rivals Real Madrid.

Simone Inzaghi kept the same starting eleven despite doubts over Lautaro Martinez’s readiness. In the backline, Francesco Acerbi sat between Yann Bisseck and Bastoni. Nicolò Barella, Hakan Çalhanoğlu, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan remained the pillars of midfield, with Federico Dimarco and Denzel Dumfries slotting in the wingback spots. Marcus Thuram led the attack with the captain, Lautaro Martinez.

Barcelona’s formation saw a single change in the right back position as Koundé picked up an injury in the first leg. Therefore, Eric García replaced him to join Pau Cubarsí, Iñigo Martínez, and Gerard Martín in defense. Frenkie de Jong joined Pedri in the pivot. Lamine Yamal operated on the right and Raphinha on the left. Ferran Torres kept his position as a striker in front of Dani Olmo.

Two brains battle: Inzaghi against Flick

Both contenders sought to exploit each other’s mistakes. Inter started the game, building up similarly to the first leg. Yann Sommer joined the back three in the construction phase, allowing the wingbacks to push on and pin Barcelona’s fullbacks. That saw Inter line up in a 4-3-4 shape in which Barella and Mkhitaryan operated down the inside channels, Dimarco and Dumfries stretching the width of the pitch.

The Catalans aggressively pounced on the hosts. Raphinha engaged with Bisseck, and Ferran Torres ran onto the goalkeeper to force the play sideways. Dani Olmo stood between Çalhanoğlu and Mkhitaryan to jump on the former, had Inter looked to progress through or to narrow toward the ball side in case the home team walked around the press. Lamine Yamal occupied Acerbi. Sommer picked out the situational left back Bastoni with a long ball over Yamal. The latter had space to carry the ball; however, an extra nudge prevented him from progressing forward and enabled Eric García to pounce on the ball and feed Lamine Yamal behind. The seventeen-year-old immediately pulled off a Trivela pass to Ferran Torres, whose shot was blocked by Bisseck.

Out of possession, Inzaghi’s team opted for pressing high up the pitch in a man-oriented fashion. The telos was to drive Barcelona sideways or obligate them to play longer with the advantage to win the ball back, thanks to Inter’s defenders’ aerial ability. Nevertheless, the visitors adjusted to Inter’s press, relying on inside diagonal passes from the fullbacks to players, coming short between the lines. From there, the visitors sought to find Lamine Yamal on the right, counting on his individual brilliance to advance. From the left, the Catalans looked to combine to access Raphinha, who tended to target players coming from behind with crosses.

5th minute: Barcelona breaks through Inter’s man-to-man press. Pedri shifts wide to pull out Çalhanoğlu, and Dani Olmo creeps behind Mkhitaryan. That opens up an inside diagonal lane between Gerar Martin and Dani Olmo. Inter’s backline gradually retreats, which enables Olmo and Torres to combine in a one-two and access Raphinha near the flank. The latter squares a pass to Torres, who comes late from behind. Acerbi slides to keep the ball away from Barcelona’s striker.

Barcelona’s vertical compactness in possession gave them the edge to pounce on like a swarm of bees on Inter’s players, who looked to counter. Pedri and De Jong kept optimal distances with Inter’s midfielders to counterpress, taking into consideration Çalhanoğlu, Mkhitaryan, and Barella’s capability to cut through via short, quick, and incisive passes.

However, Barcelona’s high press didn’t stand a chance against Inter’s deep buildup. Dumfries was usually the fullback to advance, and Dimarco occasionally pushed on. Therefore, when he stood still, Mkhitaryan moved wide on the left. Inter looked to progress down the left side. Thus, Dimarco picked out the dropping Mkhitaryan, who dragged Pau Cubarsí with him, and stood on the ball, waiting for the Italian left wingback to move behind and release him. When the home team didn’t find routes on the left, Inter relied on switches toward the right side, where Dumfries and Barella generated a numerical superiority over Gerard Martin.

15th minute: Inter’s buildup. Mkhitaryan darts deeper to link with Dimarco. The former spins past De Jong to find Lautaro Martinez dropping out and creating separation with Pau Cubarsí. Meanwhile, Dimarco sprints behind Eric García, breaking down Barcelona’s offside trap. Inter’s captain clips a ball over the top to Dimarco; however, Wojciech Szczęsny comes out to sweep behind.

Nerazzurri breaks down Barcelona’s offside trap

Once Barcelona’s first line of the press was broken down, the visitors found joy down the channels to walk through the thirds. In other words, the large distance between Eric García and Dimarco permitted the latter and Bastoni to exchange the ball effortlessly, bypassing Lamine Yamal. Meanwhile, Mkhitaryan raced out behind Eric García, drawing De Jong’s attention, and one of the front two pinned Pau Cubarsí inside. That saw Bastoni swim in space and set Mkhitaryan behind, who tended to play the ball across. The visitors’ center-backs’ last-second ditches saved them from bad consequences.

Inter’s counterpress was also effective, with the midfielders shrinking the distances with Frenkie De Jong, Pedri, and Dani Olmo. In addition, the hosts’ back three backed up the process, operating close to Barcelona’s front three to prevent them from counterattacking. Moreover, Dimarco tended to narrow inside to immaculately shut down Dani Olmo. In fact, Inter’s first goal came through a similar pattern. In the middle of the park, Çalhanoğlu jumped on Pedri with Mkhitaryan and Dimarco surrounding Dani Olmo. The former regained the ball and prodded it onto Dumfries, who cut through between Barcelona’s center-backs to assist Lautaro Martinez’s goal.

Lamine Yamal vs Inter’s low block

Inter retreated to defend in a 5-3-2 low block. Frenkie de Jong took position between Barcelona’s center-backs, and Pedri had the license to roam. Gerard Martin hugged the touchlines on the left, and Eric Garcia switched positions with Lamine Yamal.

As Barcelona pushed the hosts backward, De Jong intended to shift across, dragging Çalhanoğlu with him and generating a numerical match on the right side. Dani Olmo strolled between the lines, tying Bastoni’s hands. Eric Garcia, joining the crew, attracted Mkhitaryan to engage with the former. As a result, Lamine Yamal was left one-on-one against Dimarco. In addition, Ferran Torres pinning Acerbi at the edge of the box afforded space for Yamal to drive inside traffic. However, Inter’s players struck in packs to prevent him from causing trouble.

Mkhitaryan and Dimarco doubled up on Lamine Yamal. When the latter didn’t drive infield, he drew the pair toward the byline, leaving room for Eric Garcia to come from behind and whip crosses toward the far post area. In the other case, he took on Inter’s duo, dribbling past them to crash the box and fire a shot.

Barcelona’s advanced fullbacks were a double-edged sword. Inter attempted to exploit the space behind Gerard Martin and Eric Garcia via counterattacks led by Dimarco and Dumfries. Still four minutes to the first half’s end, Dumfries recovered the ball near the halfway line, initiating his team’s transition. Pedri cut off Çalhanoğlu’s pass toward Thuram. However, the ball went to Mkhitaryan, who set free Lautaro Martinez behind Pau Cubarsí. The latter fouled the former inside the box. That drove the referee to award the hosts a penalty for Çalhanoğlu to double the score.

The far post zone was the answer for Barcelona

Nothing changed at the beginning of the second half. Barcelona kept pushing forward, relying on Lamine Yamal from the right. Furthermore, the Catalans looked to attack more down the left side, generating space for Gerard Martin to play crosses. That usually came through Raphinha dragging Dumfries inside, so the left side was free for Barcelona’s left back to exploit.

On the right side, Dani Olmo came deeper to lure Bastoni. However, the visitors didn’t make use of it. Moreover, Eric Garcia tried to stay behind Lamine Yamal to draw Mkhitaryan’s attention and isolate the former against Dimarco. Nevertheless, as the ball went to Yamal, Mkhitaryan immediately retreated to support the left wingback. Despite being doubled up, Barcelona’s right winger drove the pair near the byline to deliver crosses toward the far post. However, there was nobody to collect Yamal’s service.

In contrast, the Catalans’ first goal came from the left. Barcelona’s tens and striker pushed Inter’s backline deeper at the edge of the six-yard box and pinned the wingbacks and the wide center-backs inside, leaving room for the fullbacks to advance down the inside channels. Inter’s second line jumped on Lamine Yamal, who narrowed infield. As a result, he was forced to pick out Pedri at the edge of the box, who intended to link up with Torres. But it was impossible due to Inter shrinking the space between the lines. As a reaction, Pedri fed Martin, whose cross found Eric Garcia at the far post, to reduce the deficit to one goal.

Two minutes later, Barcelona ran in space, counterattacking Inter’s corner. The visitors attacked in a three-versus-two situation, in which Pedri drew Mkhitaryan’s attention to enable Gerard Martin to square the pass to Eric Garcia at the far post. Yann Sommer, with a heroic arm’s stretch, cleared Garcia’s shot, leaving the right back in disbelief.

Fifteen minutes into the second half, Gerard Martin took place down the left-inside channel to curl an early cross toward the far-post zone, where Dani Olmo, unmarked, came from behind to head the ball home.

Inter’s narrowing their lines meant that De Jong, who stepped down between the center-backs, could access Eric Garcia, who acted as a thread between defense and Lamine Yamal. Garcia attempted to play on the overlap, but his runs went unnoticed as Yamal cut inside, switching the play to the left, passing by Pedri. Down the left-inside channel, Gerard Martin had time and space to come up with neat crosses because Inter’s second line dropped back deep.

Inter seemed to be running out of gas. As a consequence, their decisions and actions were negatively impacted. The visitors took advantage of that, intensifying their press. That saw Barcelona generate transitions, especially behind Yann Bisseck. Also, the Catalans’ counterpress and front players’ recovery runs halted any potential Inter’s counterattack. Consequently, Barcelona quickly regained the ball to initiate another attack.

74th minute: Eric Garcia, Pedri, and Dani Olmo attract Mkhitaryan, Çalhanoğlu, and Bastoni, respectively. That isolates Lamine Yamal against Carlos Augusto on the wing. However, Erci Garcia opts for sliding a line-breaking pass behind Bastoni to Dani Olmo, whose cross does not find anybody at the edge of the six-yard box.

Raphinha and Acerbi took the tie to extra time

Simone Inzaghi’s substitutions brought energy to Inter. From the backline, the hosts counted on overloading the left side to isolate Dumfries on the right, finding him via switches of play. That was Inter’s strategy to bypass Barcelona’s offside trap and put Dumfries in one-versus-one against Gerard Martin to arrive at the final third, where the Dutch wingback fed his teammates with low crosses.

High up the pitch, Nerazzurri also pressed in a man-oriented Barcelona’s 4+2 buildup shape. As aforementioned, inside diagonal passes served the visitors well, breaking down Inter’s man-to-man press. However, Darmian maintained a close position with the dropping Raphinha to ward off his ability to receive Martin’s diagonals and turn. As a result, Inter turned over from the right, overloading the opposite left back to combine and play passes across the goal. However, the hosts were caught offside.

Close to the end, Inter appeared the favorite to score, generating counterattacks to release Thuram behind Barcelona’s defense. Nevertheless, you can’t acquire all that you desire. From a counterattacking situation, Eric Garcia pounced on Barella, cutting the ball off to initiate the turnover. Pedri and Fermin López exchanged passes to access Raphinha on the left. The latter fired a shot into Sommer’s hands, but he gobbled up the rebound.

The second minute of injury time saw Lamine Yamal hit the post from a long-range shot. A few seconds later, Sommer clipped a long pass to Thuram, who collected the second ball and set Dumfries to play the cross to Acerbi. Inter’s center-back guided the ball into the roof of the net, igniting and reviving Nerazzurri’s hopes.

Frattesi and Sommer took Inter to Munich

Inter drove Barcelona into a game of aerial duels, first and second balls. The hosts came out victorious in this battle. Taremi and Thuram were kings in the air, outplaying Barcelona’s defense in this regard. Nine minutes into extra time, Taremi jumped in the air, outclassing De Jong to head Sommer’s long pass down to Thuram. The French striker attacked the byline, toying with Ronald Araújo to dribble past him and play the cutback to Taremi. At the edge of the six-yard box, the latter laid the ball off to Frattesi, who curled his effort into the bottom left of the net.

Pau Victor and Gavi came on for Pedri and Pau Cubarsí. Inter sat in a 5-4-1 low block. To create space between Inter’s lines, Raphinha lured Barella in the right-inside channel, Gavi shifted across toward the left to draw Frattesi, and Zieliński jumped on De Jong. That unlocked a diagonal passing lane between Gerard Martin and Pau Victor, who operated between the lines. The latter intended to connect passes with Gavi. However, Inter’s center-backs aggressively stepped out on the ball holder.

Lamine Yamal never stopped spreading his magic, nonchalantly taking on his markers, either by driving toward the byline to play the cross or drifting infield to shoot or target runners at the far post. In addition, the Spanish winger attempted to step out of traffic. Meanwhile, Gavi and Pau Victor planned to generate space behind Inter’s backline via countermovements. The former came short between the lines to receive Lamine Yamal’s pass, whereas the latter sneaked behind. Nevertheless, Acerbi diminished the space by blocking off Gavi’s pass.

Yann Sommer was Nerazzurri’s savior and the last station where Lamine Yamal’s shots were denied. Still seven minutes until the end, Gerard Martin accessed Robert Lewandowski, who dropped deeper via an inside diagonal pass from the left flank. The Polish striker found Raphinha in the middle of the park. The Brazilian set free Lamine Yamal, who cut inside, and his whipped effort was cleared by Sommer’s fingertips.

Takeaways

Nothing could match the chaotic events in a football game. That is a source of entertainment for the public. Nonetheless, it is a source of pain for managers because they cannot control the game. Inter exploited Barcelona’s woes by the book, and Barcelona, with Lamine Yamal, proved that the future is bright.

Inter reached the final for the seventh time in their history and the second in three seasons. Simone Inzaghi and his players have the chance to make up for the Istanbul loss. They are the last Italian team to win the Champions League back in 2010, and they have an opportunity to bring it back to Italy, as Juventus failed twice to do so.

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