Maicon knocks in the second goal
What more could you ask for from the home club?
Inter Milan convincingly beat what many have called the world’s greatest soccer team yesterday with a 3-1 victory over Barcelona. The match was controversial from the start, as Barcelona endured a 10 hour bus ride to Milan because the European airspace was still mostly closed.
Despite what had to have been an uncomfortable ride, Barcelona struck first. The simply named Pedro took a pass from Maxwelland buried it in the back of the net for an early lead in the 19th minute. The crowd, knowing what Barca had done at the Emirates in the previous round, had to have been rather uncomfortable, especially since for the rest of the first half Lionel Messi was quiet but threatening. Their discomfort was increased when Inter missed a few good chances from Diego Milito to even the score.
That equalizer came in the 30th minute when Milito decided that if he couldn’t put the ball past Victor Valdes, Wesley Sneijder on the wing could and did. Inter went ahead for good in the 48th minute when Milito again garnered an assist, this time to Maicon from close range. The man of the match finally got his goal in the 61st minute, closing out the scoring and giving Inter a comfortable cushion in aggregate goals.
Barcelona’s defense was inadequate yesterday and too often left attackers unmarked. Barcelona needs at least two goals to advance and although they have to be favored at home, Inter Milan has put themselves in an excellent position to advance. They probably could not have expected a better result, and as such may be the slight favorite to advance to the Champions League finals.
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Good win for Inter but I believe the Champions League final is the in May and the semi-final return leg is scheduled for next week and not May 22nd.
One thing to take note of is Messi was subdued, but the young star rarely goes two games in a row without doing something creative or stunning. Inter should expect the Argentine to be fired up for the return leg at the Camp Nou.
Good point. I guess it’s hard to not think of this match as the final one in May.
Hi Robert,
I think it will be a good match because Barca have to attack and even if Inter sit back there still will be some fascinating moves, dribbles, strikes and perhaps several goals. Let’s hope for goals for the sake of entertainment.
I’ve been to the Camp Nou once and it really will be a great atmosphere. This will be a big match not just for Barca but for the Catalans as a whole. It’s not Barca vs Inter but Catalans vs Inter so the crowd should be fired up and the stadium will be full.
Mourinho is a great motivator. He’s better at getting the best out of players. He’s really good at that and even does a better job doing that than actual tactics. I know this will create a response but he’s more of a master motivator than a simple tactician. It will be like a game of chess; Barca attack and Inter will try to counter.
All eyes will be on Messi!
Hi Robert,
All eyes will be on Messi and this should be a battle between Barca’s attacking approach and Inter’s attempt to counter it.
Mourinho is a master motivator. He’s actually even better at getting the best out of players than coaching. Not saying he is a bad tactician but he certainly is more than a simple tactician. He is one of the best at motivating players and in some cases this covers some of the flaws in his tactics.
Let’s hope for some goals and an entertaining match!
Only a team like Barca can come back from this, but its really up to them…if they are fit….too many games, the bus etc…
Inter can surely park their bus in Barcelona and grind out some positive result, taking the nerazzurri to the final.
BAYERN MUNICH will be CHAMPIONS for the 5th time. Robben is pure class and has potencial to be even better than the MESSIA!! GOO BAYERN GOO THE FLYING DUTCHMAN!!!!