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Barcelona continue Champions League form with third consecutive victory

By Chiranjib Ghosh

Barcelona's Brazilian midfielder Rafinha (2R) celebrates with teammates after scoring during the UEFA Champions League group B match Barcelona against Inter Milan at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on October 24, 2018. (Photo by Josep LAGO / AFP) (Photo credit should read JOSEP LAGO/AFP/Getty Images)
Barcelona's Brazilian midfielder Rafinha (2R) celebrates with teammates after scoring during the UEFA Champions League group B match Barcelona against Inter Milan at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on October 24, 2018. (Photo by Josep LAGO / AFP) (Photo credit should read JOSEP LAGO/AFP/Getty Images) /
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Barcelona avenge 2009/10 elimination with X-0 victory over Inter

Barcelona went into the game against Inter without captain Lionel Messi, but ultimately ended up victorious. The 100th European appearance for Gerard Piqué and the 50th Champions League appearance for Sergio Busquets ended on a winning note

Inter adopted a solid defensive shape by implementing the high press. The man-marking scheme was well thought-out, while most of the passing channels were closed by the holding midfielders. But Ernesto Valverde’s risky decision to name Rafinha as Messi’s replacement paid off.

In the 32th minute, Rafinha found some space in the centre of the pitch, and released Luis Suárez on the right flank. ‘El Pistolero’ produced a moment of brilliance, putting in the perfect cross for Rafinha to finish the move with a simple sidefooted finish.

The 25-year old La Masia graduate had earlier missed two easy chances by messing up the finish, but he couldn’t miss from close-range. And after his goal, Inter’s setup slightly fell apart due to the constant pressure applied by the Barça attackers.

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In the early stages of the second-half, Inter upped the tempo, with Arthur losing possession twice in dangerous areas. But they couldn’t get any shots on target. Barcelona had an excellent chance off a counter-attack following a corner in the 71st minute, but couldn’t make the most of it.

There was an eye-catching moment in the 78th minute as Arthur was substituted, to raucous applause from the Camp Nou. His replacement was controversial new signing Arturo Vidal, who made just his ninth appearance of the season.

The experienced Chilean midfielder had an instant impact. He exchanged a one-two with Jordi Alba before passing it to Ivan Rakitić. After taking a single touch, Rakitić released a sprinting Alba in between the Inter defence, for the left-back to finish off the game in the 83th minute.

The match was pretty competitive, and Luciano Spalletti’s approach to the game is commendable. He tried to maintain defensive shape to limit opportunities for Barça, and hit the Catalans on the counter-attack with Ivan Perišić and Antonio Candreva. But the side prevailed, with a bit of quality.

Luis Suárez was easily the best player on the pitch, as the Uruguayan centre-forward improved dramatically to lead with his performance against the Nerazzurri, and finally took on the mantle of a senior member of the squad after years of theatrics on the pitch.

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But the performances of Philippe Coutinho, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets were also very good. But the question is, will Ernesto Valverde stick with Rafinha for El Clásico or revert to either the unreliable Ousmane Dembélé or the inexperienced Malcom?

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