Since reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League, almost everything has gone wrong for Inter Milan. The Italians' opponents are quite different: Barcelona always manage to pull their heads out of the noose somehow.
30.04.2025, 10:45
30.04.2025, 15:17
SDA
History almost repeated itself - only in reverse. After the power cut in Spain, there was brief uncertainty in the Inter camp as to whether the semi-final first leg in Barcelona or the flight could also be affected. However, over the course of Monday, the authorities gave the all-clear that the charter flight would be able to go ahead as planned on Tuesday. The Italians were thus spared the arduous journey that FC Barcelona had to make to Milan 15 years previously.
Back then too, in April 2010, Inter and Barça faced each other in the semi-finals of the Champions League. Shortly before the first leg, the Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted in Iceland. The ash cloud brought air traffic over northern and central Europe to a virtual standstill. The request to postpone the match was rejected by UEFA as there were no dates for a rescheduling. The only option was to travel by train or bus, the first of which was made impossible by a strike in France. As a result, the Barcelona players spent a good 15 hours on the bus for the game at the San Siro, staying overnight in Cannes in between.
Inter won the home game 3:1 and went on to play Bayern Munich in the final, which the Italians won. It was Inter's third and, to this day, last success in this competition. At the time, Inter were also the first Italian club to win the treble.
In eight days into misery
Until recently this season, it looked as if Inter were well on the way to repeating this historic triumph. However, three defeats in the space of eight days meant that Inter were eliminated in the cup semi-final and went from three points ahead of Napoli to three points behind them in the championship. Now, of all times, the all-important away game in Barcelona is on the agenda, in which the Milanese must create a good starting position for the second leg. Otherwise, a horror scenario looms: the first title-less season in five years.
Preventing this is also the task of goalkeeper Yann Sommer. The 36-year-old Swiss also put in a strong performance in his first season after retiring from the national team. He only had to make one save in the eight matches of the Champions League phase. At the moment, things are no longer going quite as planned for him or the team as a whole. Sommer has conceded at least one goal in each of the last seven games, with his last clean sheet coming in mid-March.
However, the latest results, twice 0:1 and once 0:3, show where Inter's problems lie: Milan's attacking play is suddenly struggling. Coach Simone Inzaghi can hope that the recently injured Marcus Thuram will be fit to play at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona. The Frenchman, who recently returned to training with the team, is Inter's second-highest scorer with 17 goals this season after Lautaro Martinez (21).
Barcelona string together victory after victory
While Inter see their goals for the season in jeopardy, FC Barcelona are right on course. On Saturday, coach Hansi Flick's team secured victory in the cup with a 3:2 win after extra time against arch-rivals Real Madrid. In the championship, Barça has a four-point lead over Real with five rounds to go. And the bookmakers also see the Catalans as the most promising title contenders in the Champions League. It would be their sixth win in the top flight and their first since 2015.
What is particularly impressive is how Barça can always shift up a gear in the decisive moments. In addition to the hard-fought cup win, the team also showed this recently in the league when they came back from 3-1 down at home to Celta Vigo. Raphinha scored the winning goal with a penalty in the 98th minute: the famous momentum definitely seems to be with the Blaugrana at the moment. The team is also coping with the loss of top scorer Robert Lewandowski.
Barcelona want to take their current high into the semi-final clash against Inter. Flick will continue to rely on Wojciech Szczesny between the posts, who will be preferred to Marc-André ter Stegen, who has recovered from a knee injury. He, too, should ensure that a new history is written after the semi-final defeat in 2010.
