Barcelona vs. Inter Milan – What to expect in UEFA Champions League semifinal, injury update, team news
Barcelona vs. Inter Milan – What to expect in UEFA Champions League semifinal, injury update, team news
Barcelona and Inter Milan are set to renew their rivalry in the UEFA Champions League semifinals.
The first leg will take place in Barcelona on Wednesday. Inter Milan’s charter flight is still scheduled to depart at 5 p.m. local time on Tuesday, following a large-scale blackout that temporarily brought Spain and Portugal to a standstill.
Inter arrives in Barcelona under difficult circumstances. The team has lost three straight matches without scoring a goal — something it hasn’t done in over 13 years.
These losses followed a 2-2 draw with Bayern in the Champions League quarterfinals and came against Bologna, Roma, and AC Milan — each by a 1-0 scoreline.
The slump has seen Inter fall three points behind Napoli in Serie A.
A key missing piece during that poor run was Marcus Thuram, who has tallied 17 goals and nine assists across all competitions this season.
With Thuram sidelined due to a left thigh issue, Lautaro Martinez appeared fatigued, while Marko Arnautovic struggled to make an impact. Thuram has since returned to training and could even start in Barcelona.
Historically, there’s precedent for chaos between the clubs: in 2010, Barcelona had to travel 15 hours by bus to Milan due to a volcanic ash cloud, ultimately losing the semifinal 3-2 on aggregate to José Mourinho’s Inter, who went on to win the treble.
Inter coach Simone Inzaghi remains focused on regaining momentum:
“The three defeats hurt and we’re not used to this, we have to look at ourselves and try to recover our physical and mental energy. We’ll head to Barcelona and we will play them with respect, not fear.”
