Three things Barcelona must do to beat Inter Milan | OneFootball

Less than 12 hours remain for the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinal between Barcelona and Inter Milan to kick-off and the game could not have been more open.

The first leg in Catalonia last week ended in a 3-3 draw, and both teams must start from a clean slate later tonight. The 90 minutes at San Siro will determine the first finalist of the competition, and Barcelona will desperately hope it is them.

Alejandro Balde and Jules Kounde are both unavailable for the game in Milan in what comes as a huge blow to Hansi Flick’s plans. There is, however, a silver lining in that Robert Lewandowski will be back in action.

Here are three things Barcelona must do against Inter Milan to advance to the final of the UCL.

Defend set-pieces better

Two of Inter Milan’s three goals against Barcelona in the first leg came from set-pieces, and it appeared to be the one department where the Catalans were no match for the Italians.

Given the sheer physical size and dominance of the players in Simone Inzaghi’s side, it is clear that Barcelona will have it difficult once more tonight, and their ability to win the game may well come down to improving their defence of set pieces.

Hansi Flick can consider many strategies to combat the same, be it including Ronald Araujo or devising a plan to better utilise the shorter players to create distraction.

For Inter Milan, however, set-pieces are a central part of their chances and Barcelona’s odds of going through amplify significantly if they can control the same.

Take their chances

Barcelona will need to clinical in front of goal. (Photo by Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images)

Barcelona have seldom had problems creating chances under Hansi Flick, even in games that ended up with narrow scorelines.

Despite all the hype around Inter’s world-class defence, Barcelona did penetrate it with relative ease last week and had their fair share of chances. What led to the game ending in a draw was the difference in finesse between the two teams.

Should Barcelona manage to be precise in front of goal and take them with both hands, there is little doubt that they can significantly outscore Inter Milan.

Raphinha, Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres and Dani Olmo will all thus have to put the team first, for their combined in-game intelligence is good enough to take apart any team in the world.

Back themselves

The most important thing that Barcelona have to do tonight to ensure that they can secure a berth in the finale of the UEFA Champions League is to back themselves, and the importance of the same cannot be understated.

Throughout this season, the Catalans have shown renewed faith and confidence in their own abilities. Even going down has not deterred them and they even came back from a 2-0 deficit in the first leg of the semifinal last week.

Keeping the same mentality going will be key. If Barcelona believe they are the better team and get going like they have this season, there is not much any team in the world can do to stop them.