Inter Milan and Barcelona Draw in an Epic First Leg Encounter
The first leg of the UCL Semifinal encounter between Inter Milan and Barcelona was only a preview of the high-stakes matchup between these European giants. The game was action-packed from the first half to the second half until the final whistle blew. Inter Milan took only a mere 30 seconds to hit Barcelona with a sneaky little goal that was magnificent. It came from a cross which Marcus Thuram controlled effortlessly and then proceeded to backheel the ball past the goalkeeper into the net. Barcelona missed a chance in the 11th minute, and the game seemed to slow down a bit after that until a corner kick in the 20th minute for Inter Milan resulted in another shocker of a goal. The corner kick was sent in towards the middle of the box, and the ball deflected off an Inter player towards Denzel Dumfries, who was waiting by the far post. He then leaped into the air and bicycle-kicked the ball into the net. Barcelona finally answered by the 23rd minute with an amazing goal by Lamine Yamal on his 100th appearance in the first team for Barcelona. Lamine Yamal almost repeated in the 25th with a shot from a tight angle, but it ricocheted off the crossbar. These offensive chances produced by the Spanish youngster breathed life into the Barcelona side.
A Tight Game Finally Begins With Higher Stakes
When Lamine Yamal’s goal and second attempt shifted the tides of momentum more towards Barcelona’s favor, they began to retain possession of the ball and were able to control the pace of the game to their liking. Finally, in the 37th minute, Barcelona tied the game to a 2-2 scoreline with a goal from Ferrán Torres. The Spanish striker for Barcelona continues to make a case for himself in the absence of Robert Lewandowski due to his injury. With the score tied, the game stayed relatively quiet up until halfway through the second half in the 62nd minute, where Internazionale once again exposed Barcelona’s weaknesses at defending set-pieces when Dumfries scored a soaring header off of another corner kick. This put the Italian club up 3-2 in the scoreline. Barcelona, however, did not sweat this at all when they answered back two minutes later with a screamer of a goal by Raphina, which puts him at 13 goals this season in the UCL. Inter Milan kept fighting, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan had an attempt on goal in the 74th minute, which blasted into the net, but the alleged goal was called offside and disallowed by the VAR system. The game was pretty much finished at this point, with Barcelona maintaining their control on possession while Inter Milan defended and looked for counterattacks.
What Can We Expect in the Second Leg?
The second leg should be wide open for either team to advance, with a current aggregate score of 3-3. Inter Milan was able to show that Barcelona needs to improve on defending against set-pieces. It has been shown as a clear weakness for them, and it can be their Achilles heel in the second leg if Inter Milan can continue to exploit it with their proficiency at creating chances from these kinds of plays. Internazionale will likely look to make adjustments to their tactics to allow them to considerably improve on their retention of possession because, in this first leg, they finished the game with a measly 28 percent. On the side of Barcelona, if they can make sure that Inter’s counterattacks don’t result in offensive chances straight off the counter or through the result of fouls, which as mentioned before set-pieces are a danger for Barca to defend against, then the Blaugrana should be able to maintain an advantage in the second leg. The second leg should also be a tight affair, perhaps even tighter than the first leg, considering all the adjustments both teams are probably going to make.
