Barcelona is playing to be or not to be in the Champions League. It is only October and the second round of the group stage has just begun, but the defeats against Bayern Munich and Inter Milan away from home in the group of death leave the team coached by Xavi Hernández without much room for manoeuvre.
For this reason, the game at the Spotify Camp Nou, which is expected to be packed to the brim, has become the first final of the season. Anything other than adding the three points against the Italians would almost certainly send the Blaugrana to the Europa League for the second consecutive year, which would be an economic and sporting catastrophe considering the effort made last summer from the offices.
Barcelona - Inter Milan is played this Wednesday, October 12 at the Spotify Camp Nou at 9:00 p.m. in Spain and will be broadcast by Movistar Champions League. The La Vanguardia website will also offer live minute-by-minute updates on what happens during the clash between the Catalans and the Lombards.
Xavi Hernández explained at a press conference that "it has to be a magical night" against Inter. "We need the fans to continue supporting us as they have done so far, even with a plus. We are in an uncomfortable situation but we are facing it in the best way possible," added the Catalan coach at a press conference.
Pedri, one of the men destined to make the difference against the Nerazzurri, also spoke about the importance of the clash. "It's going to be difficult because Inter is going to get behind with a lot of players and then they'll go on the counterattack," said Pedri, who revealed that Xavi has asked them to "move the ball very quickly" so that imbalances occur in the defense and find the spaces.
With Bayern already practically classified with nine points out of a possible nine, second place is the most accessible for Barça, who now have only three points thanks to the victory on the first day of the Champions League against the weak Viktoria Pilsen.
Inter Milan, which debuted in the European competition with a defeat, later managed to straighten the course with a victory against the Czechs and by the minimum against the Blaugrana at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium, a match marked by arbitration controversy that harmed Barca's interests. That 1-0 allowed him to add six points to Simone Inzaghi's men in the standings, three ahead of Barça.
But the Italians, to get their pass to the round of 16 on track, will not only have to face the Blaugrana team at a Camp Nou in which they have never won in an official match, but also all the numbers that play against them.
Two wins in a row this week, against Barcelona in the Champions League and against Sassuolo in Serie A, seem to have put an end to the crisis of an Inter that, however, is far from its best level, seventh, eight points behind the leader, and diminished by the losses of the Belgian Romelu Lukaku, the Croatian Marcelo Brozovic and the Argentine Joaquín Correa.
On the part of Barça, he will not yet be available with the Jules Koundé team. Instead, Frenkie de Jong and Franck Kessié do return.
