Barcelona hopes of winning a treble ended with a 3-4 defeat to Inter in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinal at the San Siro, resulting in a 6-7 aggregate loss.
After a poor first half where they found themselves down 3-1, Hansi Flick’s squad battled back with three second-half goals to put them in the hope of a miracle.
Even though Barcelona went down to Inter Milan in defeat, the solid second half and talented performances from players are good things to build on for the next challenges ahead.
But Inter equalized in the dying minutes of stoppage time, thanks to Francesco Acerbi and Davide Frattesi scored the winner in extra time.
Here are the Barcelona player ratings:
Wojciech Szczesny – 6/10
The aging goalkeeper had good awareness and played well when it came to reading plays, but could do nothing about the goals themselves. His decision-making was good, but he often found himself exposed by his backline.
Eric García – 7.5/10
Scored an important goal just when Barcelona needed it, he nearly scored another but was denied by a fantastic save from Yann Sommer. Defensively he was less than perfect but his goal was instrumental in firing up the team.
Pau Cubarsí – 5.5/10
He could’ve awarded a penalty close to the end of the first half when he challenged Lautaro Martínez. He showed some glimpses of promise. The young defender will learn a lot from this opportunity in such a high-pressure match.
Iñigo Martínez – 6/10
Showed a lot of aggression in the first 45 minutes with very important blocks in the box, however he couldn’t prevent the flood of goals that led to him getting substituted after the break.
Gerard Martín – 5/10
He was pressured very quickly by Denzel Dumfries and looked shaky at the start of the match, although he seemed to regain his composure somewhat in the second half, showing good energy after Raphinha scored.
Frenkie de Jong – 5.5/10
Not at his standard, the Dutchman was very quiet and didn’t dictate the pace of the game, which he normally always controls.
Pedri – 8/10
He was one of the two best Barcelona players.
He controlled midfield, cut out Inter’s attacks, and delivered incisive passing, he just didn’t have as much support around him to create those decisive chances.
Lamine Yamal – 8/10
A constant threat to Inter’s defence, he almost scored with a shot that deflected off the post and forced another great save. Unlucky not to register on the scoresheet.
Dani Olmo – 6.5/10
Although his slow start led to an error that allowed Inter to score their first goal, he redeemed himself by scoring Barcelona’s second goal. After half time he grew in confidence, and looked more dangerous.
Raphinha – 7.5/10
He was quiet for most of the match, but came up with a critical goal to give Barcelona some hope and caused havoc for Inter’s defence in the closing minutes.
Ferran Torres – 5.5/10
He was lively but unproductive, he never looked like making an impact on the game or posing a threat to Inter’s defence.
Substitutes:
Ronald Araujo – 3/10
Araujo was brought on for Iñigo de Martínez, but immediately lost his defender Francisco Acerbi, who scored Inter’s stoppage-time equaliser.
Fermín López – 5.5/10
He came on for Dani Olmos with only minutes to go, and he made a couple of nice passes but didn’t make much of an impact.
Robert Lewandowski – 5.5/10
Came on in the 90th minute and missed the best opportunity, heading over with the goal at his mercy.
Héctor Fort – 5/10
Substituted on for Eric García, but Inter scored a goal not long after he was subbed in.
Pau Víctor – 5.5/10.
He came on for Pedri and didn’t have much time to find a rhythm, but tried to make an impact.
Gavi – 5/10
Substituted for Pau Cubarsí, he brought intensity and urged the team forward but couldn’t shift the momentum.
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