#4 Inter Milan vs Barcelona, 2010
When Inter Milan drew Barcelona, it looked like a mismatch. Barcelona were the holders of the trophy and were looking to become the first team to retain the Champions League. On the other hand, Jose Mourinho was never truly appreciated in Italy being the only foreign manager in Serie A back then.
First Leg – Inter Milan 3-1 Barcelona
(Video Courtesy – TehFuriousD TV YouTube Channel)
The first leg started with Barcelona dominating possession like they were used in the two years under Pep Guardiola till then. It led to the opening goal for the visitors as left-back Maxwell’s cross was ably finished by Pedro which was his 20th goal of the season.
Inter Milan woke up right after that and took the fight to Barcelona. Playing the Barcelona way, but Jose Mourinho’s version of it, the Nerazzurri pressed high up the pitch and having players with work-rates such as Thiago Motta and Esteban Cambiasso in midfield definitely helped while the tireless Diego Milito acted as the first defender up top.
This deprived Barcelona’s orchestrator Xavi of any time on the ball and led to a sharp dip in service for Messi, who was left isolated. Inter Milan’s off-the-ball work was outstanding as they did not allow Barcelona to get into threatening positions and in return attacked on the counter.
This display of famed Italian solidarity, dogged resistance and tactical shape paid rich dividends as former Barcelona marksman Samuel Eto’o combined with Milito to set up Wesley Sneijder who brought the scores level. After the break, Messi was dispossessed inside his own half and Milito set up Maicon to put the Italian side in front.
Milito finally got on the scoresheet himself on the hour mark to give a two-goal cushion for Jose Mourinho’s side. Goalkeeper Julio Cesar stood tall to help Inter withstand a late siege from the Spanish side and Jose Mourinho became the first manager to win a game with a two-goal margin against Pep Guardiola since the latter took over at Barcelona.
Second Leg – Barcelona 1-0 Inter Milan
(Video Courtesy – TehFuriousD TV YouTube Channel)
The stage was set for the second leg as everyone anticipated a relentless Barcelona attack trying to break open the steely Inter defence. The match followed this expected pattern as Blaugrana launched attack after attack, only to be met by some top-notch old-school defending from the visiting side.
The dismissal of Thiago Motta appeared to be a harsh decision and Motta’s man-handling of Sergio Busquets, the player who got fouled, increased the temperature further. Barcelona cranked up the pressure soon after but could not break the deadlock.
Inter were happy to let Barcelona play in front of them without ever threatening to get behind the defence and the Catalans were instantly dispossessed in case of a breach of their defence. As the Italian side looked set to progress, Gerard Pique, shifted to the centre-forward role, scored a wonderful turn and shoot goal that erupted the stadium and Barcelona pushed on with confidence to score another that would see them progress on the away goals rule.
Celebrations began when Bojan Krkic found the roof of the net in injury time but they were short-lived as the referee disallowed the goal as Yaya Toure was adjudged to have handled the ball in the build-up. The ending of the match sparked a celebratory run from Jose Mourinho across the pitch and the Portuguese eventually went on to beat Louis van Gaal’s Bayern Munich in the final to leave a worthy legacy in Italy.
