The much anticipated Inter and Barcelona’s semi-final clash the other night at the San Siro had all the buzz of a final. After a gruelling 14-hour bus trip, due to the closure of airports around Europe, Barcelona was primed to take on Mourinho’s men.
They were going into the match as slim favourites after superstar Lionel Messi’s four-goal haul set up an emphatic win over Arsenal in their quarter-final encounter earlier this month.
Inter, who was expected to easily pass CSKA Moskva in their quarter-final match-up, had to fight hard against the stubborn Russian outfit, only beating them 2-0 on aggregate.
But all the pre-match hype was long forgotten in the 19th minute when Barca’s Pedro put the visitors in front from 15 yards out with an angled cross from Maxwell off the goal line.
The fans didn’t have to wait long for the home side to reply, with midfielder Wesley Sneijder levelling the score on the half-hour mark.
The Dutchman’s equalizer came off the back of quick footwork from Milito, who picked out Sneijder lurking unmarked on his left and placed his shot low past keeper Valdes.
After half-time break, Mourinho’s men began where they left off taking the lead in the 48th minute through Maicon.
The Barcelona defence was again exposed on the left-hand side, with Milito picking out the Brazilian, who had two stabs at the ball from close range before putting it past Valdes at the near post.
Down the other end, top-scorer Messi tried to get Barca back into the game with several missed chances and good saves from Italian keeper Julio Cesar.
However, the orange-clad Spanish side’s defence was again its weakness on the hour as Thiago Motta’s quick touch picked out striker Samuel Eto’o who chipped the ball across goal and was met with an ill-timed header from Sneijder, only to pop up by chance for Milito to nod home Inter’s third of the night.
A desperate late assault by Barca to get a second away-goal wasn’t enough as defender Gerard Pique was sent into the forward line as another attacker.
A free kick in the 79th minute gave Messi a golden opportunity, but he was denied again by Cesar.
Inter will take a handy advantage going into their second-leg clash at the Nou Camp next week.
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