The dangers of Inter Milan, a formidable rival for Barça in the Champions League semi-finals.

BarcelonaInter Milan, current Italian champions and Serie A leaders, will be Barça's rival in the European Cup semi-final. The club was born from a split from AC Milan on March 9, 1908. It took place at the Ristorante Orologio in the Lombard capital, and the will was clearly cosmopolitan: "This wonderful night grants us the colors of our crest: black and blue on a golden background of stars." More than a century has passed, and Inter is, on its own merits, one of the greatest clubs in Italy and the entire continent. Today, in terms of football, we are talking about the most stable and powerful project in the transalpine country. Simone Inzaghi has been their coach since the summer of 2021 and, beyond the titles, he has laid some very solid foundations.

The 3-5-2 as a tactical system is non-negotiable. It's a formation that Inter already worked with their previous coach, Antonio Conte, and which usually poses a real headache for Barça. Under Inzaghi, Inter have become a solid defensive team (they had only conceded two goals in the Champions League before the tie against Bayern), but above all, they have become a team with great talent when it comes to getting the ball out and progressing into the opposition's half. This is arguably the coach's most interesting and personal signature. He already did it with his former team, Lazio, and has been able to perfect it at Inter.

Inter have a wide range of resources when it comes to pressing, controlling the ball, and directing attacks into the opponent's half. The center-backs on each side, primarily Pavard and Bastoni, are very important due to the responsibility they assume with the ball and also for their unorthodox movement. Inzaghi moves them around and makes them appear at different heights. His teams' elaborate and mechanized ball-playing offers players a catalog of possibilities depending on the opponent's pressing. Flick's Barça, a specialist in this field, will have to execute it ferociously but also synchronized. If this pressing is not well coordinated, Inter usually finds a way to overcome it with foresight.

The role of midfielders like Barella, Çalhanoğlu, and Mkhitaryan, with different characteristics but all capable on the ball, also helps Inter escape pressure. While their fluidity inside, positional interchange, and ability to quickly triangulate allow the team to find ways to progress inside, the Italian side has very different resources on the wings. On the right, the power of Dumfries—a starter if he recovers from injury—is difficult to control, a runaway horse. On the left, with Dimarco's finesse and talent, Inter have a first-class creative focus.

Inter's vulnerability: cornering and being shot down

Once up front, the Serie A leaders can rely on a forward pairing that understands and complements each other perfectly: Lautaro Martínez and Marcus Thuram. From the outset, both know how to play with their backs to goal and win duels in the center-back positions. In this sense, the Barça defenders' vigilance and ability to anticipate must be key. If they win the first attack, Lautaro and Thuram know how to unload, combine, and burst towards the opposing goal. If one breaks through, the other exploits the space between the lines. If one makes a move, the other compensates. This is their second season together, but it seems they've done it all their lives.

Inter are a great team and a difficult opponent for anyone. They have experience, clear ideas, a system that fosters them, and talented players across all lines. However, they are also a team that, against top-tier opponents, can end up defending too close to their excellent goalkeeper, Yann Sommer. This, no matter how well you defend your penalty area, is always a risk. Bayern, despite facing the quarterfinal tie with seven players out and more than half of their starting lineup injured, shot 40 times and had chances to score. If Barça plays at its best, it has a serious chance of reaching the final in Munich.