Inter Milan's Deadly Sting for Barcelona at San Siro

MILAN, MONDAY — Inter Milan is not unlikely to eliminate Barcelona in the semifinals of the Champions League. Playing at the San Siro Stadium on Wednesday (7/5/2025) at 02:00 WIB presents the best opportunity for "I Biscione" or "The Big Snake" to replicate their superiority over Barca as they did 15 years ago.

The squad coached by Simone Inzaghi has already proven itself as a counter to the prowess of Barca in the first duel last week. They became the only team capable of holding Barca at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium during the knockout phase of this season's European club competition.

Inter indeed struggled to stop the serpentine movements akin to an eel displayed by the phenomenal teenager, Lamine Yamal. In addition to scoring a goal, Yamal was the most active in threatening Inter by carrying the ball into the penalty area of I Nerazzurri 13 times.

Stopping Yamal is certainly on Inzaghi's mind. However, Inzaghi also has antithetical ingredients to conquer Barca and dash Hans-Dieter Flick's ambition to follow in the footsteps of Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique. The two German coaches' predecessors delivered treble winners for the "Blaugrana".

The first strategy that Inzaghi will consider is to help his team maintain possession of the ball for a longer period. Barca has proven to struggle against opponents who can retain ball possession compared to those who prioritize long balls.

This was demonstrated by Borussia Dortmund in the second leg of the quarter-finals. A record of shared ball possession at 50 percent was presented in the second half. This performance helped Dortmund win 3-1 against Barca, although it was not enough to advance them to the semifinals.

Certainly, ball possession is not solely about circulating passes in one's own defensive zone. Inter has a patented strategy to comfortably execute quick passes through both flanks occupied by Denzel Dumfries and Federico Dimarco. This method has proven effective in breaking down Barcelona's high defensive line.

"They (Inter) are very strong and fast. Every through ball looks dangerous. It was a codebreaker for Barca's high defensive line, which backfired," said Giovanni van Bronckhorst, a member of the UEFA technical monitoring team, as reported on the UEFA website, Monday (5/5/2025).

The effectiveness of Inter's attacks is also inseparable from their collective play. When the ball reaches the two wing backs, four to five players, generally consisting of the striker duo Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram, along with Nicolo Barella, one wing back, and one of the defensive midfielders, either Henrikh Mkhitaryan or Hakan Calhanoglu, are involved.

Another skill of Inter that can be very beneficial at San Siro is scoring from corner kicks. I Nerazzurri have scored four goals in two consecutive Champions League matches against Bayern Munich and Barcelona.

Four goals from corner kicks have increased Inter's tally from set pieces to five goals in the Champions League. Inter is the team with the highest aerial duel success rate among the four semifinalists, averaging 12.4 aerial duels won.

Barca is likely to continue struggling to defend against Inter's corner kicks. For instance, Inter was able to score two goals from corner kicks against Bayern, which has a better aerial duel win ratio, namely 12.6 aerial duel wins per game. In contrast, Barca only has a collection of 9.5 aerial duel wins per match.

"They are very dangerous from corners," said Barca winger Raphinha, acknowledging Inter's superiority from set pieces.

Inter's corner kick strategy uses the outswinging type or away from the opponent's goal. When the ball is on the right side of the opponent's goal, the executor is Dimarco who is left-footed, then on the opposite side the ball is taken by Calhanoglu who is mainly strong in his right foot.

There is another formula for Inter's corner kicks. A group of five to six players will be divided into two areas. They gather in the small penalty box zone in front of the opponent's goal, while some stand around the penalty spot.

Players in the two areas have specific roles. Players outside the small penalty box must win the first aerial duel. The options are to go straight to the goal or create a scramble. If a scramble occurs, then the player in the small penalty box is tasked with winning the second ball.

Dumfries in the match against Barca and Martinez when facing Bayern won the second ball duel to score on the scoreboard through a corner kick opportunity. They capitalized on the corner kick executed by Di Marco.

"They (Barca) will face a stronger Inter team in Milan. Our fans will also make it very difficult for them," Inzaghi was quoted as saying by La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Meanwhile, Flick acknowledged that the match at San Siro is equivalent to a final for his team. He is also confident that Inter will play differently compared to employing a layered defense at Barca's home.

"Inter also need to score goals, so they don't just think about defending. We will play our game with confidence. We are fighting to reach the final," Flick was quoted as saying by Mundo Deportivo.