As if it were a tie but in October. As if spring was entered but in autumn. With the entire season ahead but with the first crossroads in two episodes and in just eight days. With final aroma. This is what Barça is playing against Inter tonight at the Meazza (9pm) and next Wednesday at the Camp Nou. A double victory would put Xavi's men practically in the round of 16 while two negative results would put him on the road to the ditch, with the budget that the delegates will probably approve on Sunday hit the starting line and with the income roulette wound.
Here is the stark importance of the six points against a team from Lombardy that arrives at the event in full swell, accumulating defeats and injuries and with the coach, Simone Inzaghi, under the scrutiny of the fans and the board. Quite the opposite of Barça, who landed, in the heat, in Milan, premiering leadership in the League, that championship where they have become strong away from the Camp Nou. That competitiveness has to be transferred to Europe, where more than ever mental strength and carpe diem are necessary, that is, take advantage of the favorable moments in each match.
With the recent lesson of the defeat in Munich on the table, Xavi's men know that in the Champions League you have to hit when you can and resist when you have to. Respect must be earned in games like today's, with triumphs that serve the present and the future. The image left by the Blaugrana in Germany was positive and Inzaghi recalled it yesterday (“they deserved much more”) but not the result.
“We played well against Bayern but we lost. It is time to show that we are competitive in Europe and that happens by being brave, having a lot of personality and winning", declared the Barcelona coach.
Barça has had a pending issue away from home in the tournament for five years, with horrendous performances with few exceptions, one of them being the victory on Inter's ground in 2019. Of course, Inter, with a glorious history, would not exactly be a paragon of regularly in Europe in recent times.
The Milanese will not have Brozovic in the midfield or Lukaku in the forefront, both injured, and they are rushing to try to recover the injured Lautaro Martínez. Trembling in all lines, Inzaghi will line up the Cameroonian Onana, trained at La Masia and who has been a starter in the two Champions League games, in goal. And it is that Handanovic (38 years old) is not doing very well... his three defeats in the last four games in Serie A, where they have signed the worst start since 2011, have put them under pressure. “These are difficult times and we are facing one of the best teams in Europe. They are the ones who best and highest recover the ball. But at the same time the game is a great opportunity for us and the qualification is open. We are Inter”, said Inzaghi, from the Lombard refuge of Appiano Gentile.
Barça will do well not to trust the least in a stadium that will be demolished in 2027 but that knows how to generate an intense atmosphere and that if something oozes, it is tradition. Yes, it has become old in your kitchen, but it commands respect. The public, who will fill the venue, will close ranks as soon as they sense signs of weakness in the Barcelona network. “We have come to the San Siro many times as favorites and we have lost. We played against a very well-worked opponent”, warned Xavi.
For the occasion, the coach has not recovered anyone with respect to the match in Mallorca. De Jong, the only one who had options, did not get on the plane because he could not overcome his muscular problem.
The Terrassa coach will have to train with a defense with absences and constantly toyed in Milan with a possible change of system. “If we adapt, it will be to reinforce our method, to install ourselves more in the opposite field, to be more courageous. You have to take risks”, said the coach. In this sense, he valued the wild card factor of both Sergi Roberto and Marcos Alonso. Both have numbers to enter eleven, either with a defense of three or four. The one from Reus can play the fourth attacking midfielder and the fourth defense without the ball. Beyond the system, the drawing that Barcelona wants to paint is that of victory. Europe is already at stake.
Check all the results of the Champions League.
