Inter 1-0 Barcelona: Three points with Tsalhanoglou and a superb defense for the Nerazzurri

Inter beat Barcelona 1-0 at Giuseppe Meazza thanks to Hakan Tsalhanoglou’s goal with a beautiful shot from outside the box in 45+2. In a period under ter Stegen after two shots from Correa and Lautaro, stopped by Christensen, Tsalhanoglu sent the ball into the net with a powerful shot from outside the box.

Constantly having the ball at their feet, Barcelona tried to break through the Nerazzurri’s multifaceted defense but to no avail. In the 61st minute, Dembele hit Onana’s crossbar with a powerful shot, and seven minutes later Pedri’s goal was disallowed for Fati’s hand.

The Blaugrana claimed a penalty for Dumfries’ hand in added time of the second half but Vincic, after consulting VAR, signaled for the game to continue. With that result, Inter took the lead for qualifying for the 16s, taking six points, three more than Barcelona.

In addition, there are worries in the ranks at Barcelona over the injury of Andreas Christensen, who has sprained an ankle. The amount of the damage will be determined in the coming days.

The match

Barcelona had the initiative for the moves but Inter’s versatile defense put obstacles in their way. Xavi’s players bonded little with Lewandowski, who couldn’t pose a threat.

On the other hand, the hosts sometimes threatened counterattacks or deep balls. In one of them, they claimed a penalty for Eric Garcia’s hand, which was not awarded because he was flagged for offside in the 23rd minute. Five minutes later, Correa got behind the defense and sent the ball into the net, albeit from an irregular position.

What he failed to do in the previous stages, he did in the 45+2′ with a nice long-range shot from Tsalhanoglou.

In the second half, the Catalans got into the mood of constantly having the ball at their feet while Inter waited behind the ball and had the lead in their favour.

In the 61st minute, the guests came close to equalizing. After a nice rally, Dembele sent the ball over Onana’s crossbar with a powerful shot into the penalty area. He found the net with Pedri in the 68th minute, but the goal was ruled out by Ansu Fati’s hand through VAR intervention.

The unrecognized goal didn’t deter the Catalans who pushed until the final to get something out of the game but to no avail, it remained 1-0 until the final.

Inter: Onana, Skriniar, De Fray (76′ Acerbi), Bastoni, Darmian (76′ Gozens), Di Marco (76′ Dumfries), Barela, Tsalhanoglou (85′ Aslani), Mkhitaryan, Correa (56′ Dzeko), Martines.

Barcelona: Ter Stegen, Sergi Roberto, Christensen (58′ Pique), Garcia, Alonso (63′ Balde), Gavi (83′ Kesi), Pedri, Busquets, Rafinha (63′ Fati), Dembele, Lewandowski.

The results of the 3rd round

• Bavaria – Pilsen 5-0 (7′, 50′ Sane, 13′ Gnabry, 21′ Mane, 59′ Tsoupo Moting)
• Inter Barcelona 1-0 (45+2′ Tsalhanoglou)

The result of the 3rd group

The program of the 4th game

• 10.12. 22:00 Pilsen – Bavaria
• 10.12. 22:00 Barcelona – Inter