Barcelona and Inter meet again for the first time in the semi -final in 15 years in the Champions League, with both parties desperate to return to the final. In the case of Inter, a desire that comes from so close three years ago against Manchester City, and from a Perspective of Barcelona, they want to confirm themselves again at the highest level of the game.
In anticipation of the first stage in Montjuic, Voetbal España spoke with football-Italia editor Lorenzo Bettoni to find out what the Blaugrana is waiting in the semi-final.
Another player to pay attention is Yann Aurel Bisseck, probably a starter in the backline with Francesco Acerbi and Bastoni, is another that could surprise people. There are times when he is not so focused, or he shows less determination, but he has been very good lately. In a game like this, where everyone is focused, I expect him to do well.
Only seven days ago, Inter van A Treble dreamed, before the semi-final of Coppa Italia with AC Milan and lost that game 3-0. That was after a defeat against Bologna, and on Sunday they lost to Roma, making it three defeats in a row and without scoring goals. It is the first time that has happened since 2012.
But Denzel Dumfries came back from the bank on Sunday, and Marcus Thuram is training again, and these are two players who make a big difference to Inter. Especially this season. Inter is a team that does not drop much. They are the team with the lowest number of successful dribbles in the Serie A, which is strange, but shows how well they play collectively. The first hour or 70 minutes will undoubtedly be crucial, because it is very unlikely that Thuram can play for 90 minutes. Marko Arnautovic and Mehdi Taremi are different types ahead, and without Thuram they can't play so quickly.
Their structure is very good, their counterattacks are deadly. They know how to play every type of game. But when it comes to counterattacks and are quickly in the last third part, they have missed Thuram and Dumfries a lot in the last three games. Thuram is expected to return immediately because of the fact that Int did not score in those competitions.
In the game, Barcelona comes with doubts about their depth and several important players are missing, from the back of 120 minutes against Real Madrid on Saturday evening. But Inter has looked slowly lately.
The biggest problem now is that they are really tired. They lost a lot of duels against Roma, and they are without Benjamin Pavard, who is one of their best defenders. I expect a very similar game like the first stage against Bayern Munich, where Inter as a low block defends and tries to cover as much space as possible, not to give risks.
One of the turning points against Bayern was that Harry Kane missed a big chance in the box. A few minutes later, Lautaro scored and although Bayern dominated the two legs, Inter showed that they were more clinically on the counterattack. A really similar draw is to be expected. If they are focused and succeed in not giving Barcelona room with attack, they can get a good result.
Barcelona also has a little more quality than Bayern in attack, there is clearly Lamine Yamal there, and the only big problem is that Federico Dimarco is not in the best form. It happened against Roma that Matias Soule played on Inter's Links and Hurt Inter, and Niccolo Barella had to come across and help him a lot. That can be a mismatch for Barcelona. He will also have help from Bastoni, but they need at least two players on Lamine Yamal.
The opening hour of the game is the key for Inter, and then Barcelona will push very hard. The middle third of the game is where you can expect that Inter is at their best in this first stage.