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Inter Milan hosted Barcelona on Matchday 4 of the UEFA Champions League in a fixture which was to determine who will top Group B. Both teams sat atop the standings, with Barcelona in the first position, having won all three of their matches, while Inter’s only blemish came in their 2-0 loss to Barcelona on Matchday 3.
The game promised plenty of excitement, as the two clubs are among the most in form in Europe at the moment, and possess numerous quality players who can decide the game in an instant.
However, for all of the pre-match hype, the game did not live up to expectations in the first half, as both teams were slow out of the block, tactically cancelling out each other and failing to considerably trouble the opposition goal.
The match only came to life in the second half when Malcom scored the opener for Barcelona with Mauro Icardi equalizing moments later. The result moved Barcelona onto 10 points and they became the first side to book their place in the second round, while Inter Milan moved onto seven points, but still have a little work to do following Tottenham’s rallying comeback victory against PSV at Wembley.
The sheer number of internationals on display meant that it was expected that the players would put up a show befitting their talents. However, while some shone like a million stars, others failed to step up to the plate. Here we present the hits and flops from the match.
Flop #3 Ousmane Dembele
The 21-year-old was made the-then most expensive player for Barcelona in the summer of 2017 when the club identified him as the player to replace Neymar, following his record-breaking departure to PSG. The Blaugrana then proceeded to pay Dortmund the lump sum of almost €145 for the Frenchman’s services.
Since then, Dembele has not done too much to justify that figure, as an injury-ravaged first season limited his impact, and he struggled to maintain the levels he showed at Dortmund.
It was expected that he would depart the Nou Camp this season, and this was further heightened with the arrival of Malcom from Bordeaux, but Ernesto Valverde decided against moving him on, and Dembele started the season in impressive fashion.
Since then, however, he has fallen back out of contention, and got a rare chance to impress from the start against Inter Milan.
It is a chance which he failed to take, as he struggled to remain in sync with his teammates, taking one too many touches. The summation of his night was when he elected to beat his marker and lost the ball rather than play in either Suarez or Sergi Roberto who were free, much to the consternation of his Uruguayan teammate.
His horrible night was brought to an end in the 81st minute when he was replaced by Malcom, and his case was not helped by the fact that the Brazilian scored just moments into his introduction, and would further heighten the speculations linking Dembele with a move away from Barcelona.
Flop #2 Radja Nainggolan
Nainggolan is one of the best holding midfielders in the world. His tenacity, tackling, technique, and box-to-box abilities make him a very effective performer in the middle of the park, while he is also among the very best long range shooters of the ball.
It therefore came as not much of a surprise when Inter Milan paid €38m to get him from Roma and reunite him with former boss Luciano Spalletti, as the 30-year-old had shown his abilities for the last four seasons in the Italian capital.
The Belgian picked up a knock in the derby della Madonnina with AC Milan, and missed the first leg of the clash in Nou Camp. Having only just returned to fitness, he showed signs of match rustiness, as he was uncharacteristically not up to tempo with the match, having been run ragged by Arthur in the middle, and generally failed to stamp his authority on the match.
He was replaced by Borja Vallerro on 63 minutes, and the look on Nainggolan’s face said it all, as he knew he had not put up a performance befitting his high talents, which would hopefully be a thing of the past in the coming weeks when he returns to full fitness.
Flop #1 Gerard Pique
The 28-year-old has been a part of the Barcelona setup for almost two decades, bar a brief two-year period when he went to Manchester United before returning home in 2008 where he has integrated himself fully in all of the club’s triumphs in the most successful period of their illustrious history.
Pique has won everything winnable at both club and national level, and having recently announced his international retirement, it was expected that he would focus fully on his duties in Barcelona’s colours.
While Pique might be one of the most technical astute defenders in history, possessing on the ball skills that many a striker would be proud of, outright defending is not his strongest point. He has been criticized often for failing to effectively marshal the Barcelona backline since the retirement of Carles Puyol.
Against Inter Milan, Barcelona were largely comfortable, as they were so dominant in the opposing half that Ter Stegen was rarely bothered in the Barcelona goal.
On the few occasions that they did threaten though, they caused some scares in the Barca defense. It was because Pique did not impose his authority in the center of defense, and was partly at fault for Inter’s equalizer, not dealing with Vecino's shot, which allowed Icardi shield the ball and make a turn before burying the ball in the back of the net.
HITS
#4 Mauro Icardi
The 24-year-old is one of the best strikers in the world at the moment, and has proven his abilities with Inter Milan since his 2014 transfer from Sampdoria, scoring numerous goals which have largely been responsible for the upturn in fortunes of the Nerrazzurri in recent seasons.
The Argentine international is Inter’s captain and talisman on the field, and was named the joint-top scorer in Serie A last season with 28 goals (alongside Ciro Immobile), and this played a huge role in helping Internazionale qualify for the Champions League for the first time in seven seasons.
Against Barcelona, Inter Milan were on the backfoot for most of the match, as they struggled to carve out chances due to Barcelona’s superiority in the match, but with Icardi leading the line, they knew they were always in the match, as all he needed was just a chance, and he would grab it with both hands.
Icardi was rested for the weekend’s trashing of Genoa, and it proved to be a masterstroke from Spalletti, as the former Barcelona youth product got the chance he had been craving for in the 87th minute when Vecino’s shot was deflected to his path. He showed great strength to stave off a challenge from Pique and Lenglet, and had the composure to slot past Ter Stegen with a calm finish.
The goal made it nine goals from his last nine appearances for Icardi this season, and with this kind of form, there might be no stopping Inter Milan from achieving their season objectives.
#3 Phillippe Coutinho
Coutinho was earmarked as one of the players who would be crucial to Barcelona’s successes after the injury sustained by Lionel Messi, and the 26-year-old has largely fulfilled his role with distinction.
Signed from Liverpool for a club record fee in January with the aim to being the long-term replacement for the legendary Iniesta who has since departed for Japan, Coutinho has played his part in largely filling the incredibly huge boots of Iniesta, and even though not quite there, he is on his way to achieving legendary status at Barcelona.
The Brazilian spent five largely forgettable seasons at San Siro with Inter Milan, making just 28 league appearances in that time, as he spent most of his days as an Inter player on loan at other clubs.
Liverpool made a gamble on him in 2013, and we know his trajectory since then, as he went on to establish himself as one of the best midfielders in the world.
On his first return to San Siro since departing, Coutinho was his usual creative self, at the heart of everything Barcelona created, proving a handful for the Inter backline.
He had a couple of trademark corner shots taken, which all largely failed to trouble Handanovic in the Inter goal, but that took nothing away from Coutinho’s all-round brilliance.
#2 Samir Handanovic
‘Batman’, as he is called due to his super sharp reflexes, is widely regarded to be the best goalkeeper in Serie A, and rightly so, as he has proven to be one of the most consistent performers for Inter Milan since his 2012 arrival.
He has earned a reputation of being something of a penalty specialist, and in 2011/2012, he saved a total of six penalties for Udinese which equaled an all-time league record set way back in 1949, and is one of only three non-Italians to have been named Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year (on two occasions).
However, he is not just about saving penalties, as the 34-year-old has a penchant for making extraordinary saves. Thanks to his reflexes, Handanovic unfortunately does not get all the attention his performances deserve.
Against Barcelona, all of his abilities came to the fore, as he was at his goalkeeping best which helped keep Barcelona at bay at the point of the match where they were totally dominating the match.
Barcelona had 10 shots on target, and they scored from just one of those, as Handanovic made a total of nine saves in a match which Inter would have blown away but for his brilliance, and it is time to start giving the Serbian goalie the accolades he deserves.
#1 Malcom
Malcom arrived in Barcelona in very acrimonious circumstances, after they hijacked him from Roma, going behind the Italians’ back to negotiate with Bordeaux when Roma had been ready to welcome him to Italy.
Since then, the 21-year-old has struggled for game time, mostly consigned to the bench for Barcelona’s matches, which is understandable, considering the sheer amount of attacking talent present at the club.
Prior to the Inter match, the Brazilian had yet to make an appearance in the Champions League for Barcelona, appearing for a total of less than 30 minutes in La Liga, with his only start for the club coming in a dead rubber Copa clash with Cultural Leonesa.
The player who competes with Malcom for a spot off the bench for Barcelona is Ousmane Dembele, and up till now, the Frenchman has been the first choice for substitutes by Valverde, but Dembele toiled in vain for 81 minutes before giving way to Malcom on the 81st minute.
It was his first appearance in the competition for Barca, and he needed no second invitation to grab his chances, as just two minutes later, he found the back of the net for his first goal in Barcelona’s colours, slotting a calm left-footed finish past the otherwise unbeatable Handanovic to seal Barcelona’s qualification to the next round.
Malcom’s spot in Barcelona had been in jeopardy owing to his lack of first team opportunities, but with his statement display against Inter, Malcom might have created an opportunity for himself to truly kick his Barcelona career into full gear.
