As Inter prepare to host Barcelona for the second leg of the Champions League semi-final in San Siro on Tuesday night, here is a look at the key battles to keep an eye on after the thrilling 3-3 draw in Montjuic last week.
Inter and Barcelona are currently level at 3-3 midway through their Champions League semi-final tie after goals from Marcus Thuram, Denzel Dumfries, Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres and a Yann Sommer own goal last Wednesday.
The winner of this tie will go on to face either Paris Saint-Germain or Arsenal in the final in Munich at the end of May.
Inter vs. Barcelona: Three battles to watch
Marcus Thuram vs. Pau Cubarsi
While Lautaro Martinez is Inter’s leading goalscorer across all competitions this season (21 goals), it was Marcus Thuram (18 goals) who caused Barcelona the most difficulty up front during the first leg. And, with Lautaro making a miraculous return from an injury that he picked up just six days ago, Thuram may have to go the full distance on Tuesday night.
The Inter centre-forwards are expected to go up against centre-backs Ronald Araujo and Pau Cubarsi in San Siro on Tuesday night: A centre-back pairing with plenty of pace.
However, if Barcelona are to play their high-line like they did for the first leg in Montjuic, there ought to be opportunities for the Nerazzurri centre-forwards in behind, as there were during last week’s 3-3 draw.
Lamine Yamal vs. Federico Dimarco
Barcelona’s biggest threat during the first leg came from the sensational Lamine Yamal on their right wing, who had plenty of chances against Inter left wing-back Federico Dimarco.
Typically deployed for his attacking contributions, Dimarco had his defensive work cut out for him against the seemingly unstoppable 17-year-old, who had plenty of space to run at the Nerazzurri defence in the space between Dimarco at wing-back and Alessandro Bastoni on the left of the back three.
Pre-match reports suggest that Dimarco will start again in the second leg on Tuesday night, despite suggestions from reporters that Inzaghi could be inclined to field Carlos Augusto at left wing-back to have a slightly more defensive-minded player in that role up against Yamal.
Raphinha vs. Denzel Dumfries
It’s not just Yamal that the Inter defensive unit will have to keep an eye on.There is the small matter of a second Ballon d’Or candidate in Raphinha, who has 56 goal involvements from 52 appearances across all competitions this season, including 12 goals and nine assists from 13 matches in this season’s Champions League.
The Brazilian, who was close to playing for Italy at international level, was so unfortunate not to have an official goal of his own during the 3-3 draw in the first leg: His strike ultimately went down as a Yann Sommer own goal.
Inter right wing-back Denzel Dumfries, meanwhile, excelled on an attacking level himself with a man of the patch performance that included two goals and an assist.
This combination of players had a hand in five of the six goals that were scored during the first leg.
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