Serie A leader a particularly dangerous opponent
Not an easy task. FC Barcelona are set to face Inter Milan in the Champions League semifinals. The current Serie A champion and leaders of the Italian league are known for not conceding goals due to their defensive discipline. This doesn't mean that they are slouches in attack though, with world champion Lautaro Martínez currently leading the line for them.
Inter are coached by Simone Inzaghi and they are back in the semifinals of Europe's premier club competition after two seasons. They reached the final in the 2022/23 season, only to lose to Manchester City. Currently leading Serie A and going head to head with Napoli, they stand three points ahead in the race for the title. A desire to win the European tournament for Italian football is also driving on Inzaghi's project, which began in 2021.
Solid in defence, lively in attack
Yann Sommer has only conceded five goals in 12 games in this season's Champion's League, with the last three coming in the quarterfinals matches against Bayern Munich. This shows one of the Milan side's real virtues – defensive solidity. Finding a way through a solid block set up by a team who defend well close to their area will definitely be difficult.
Using a classic 3-5-2 system, Inter Milan also have a lot of quality when it comes to relieving opponent pressure. Inzaghi has a clear way of progressing the ball and his team is known for quick attacks in the opponent's half using triangulations. The centre backs are very involved, but they have very technical and mobile midfielders who can make third man runs, such as Çalhanoğlu, Nicolò Barella and Mkhitaryan.
The engine room may be important, but so are the forwards, who appear to have a superb understanding and complement each other. Son of former blaugrana Lilian Thuram, Marcus Thuram, and world champion with Argentina, Lautaro Martínez, are proving real headaches for opponent defences. The Argentine has scored eight in the European competition and leads the scoring charts for his team with 20 goals, while Thuram is not far behind with 17.
More than one argument to conclude that they pose a problem for any opponent. The side that finished on the same number of points as FC Barcelona in the UCL League Phase will undoubtedly make it difficult for the blaugranes over the two legs. However, this Hansi Flick Barça side have shown you can have faith in them.