Inter shocked Barcelona at the San Siro with a goal from Hakan Calhanoglu that found the bottom right corner.
Barcelona’s chances of making it out of the group are now reduced, and in order to advance to the knockout stage, they must win all of their remaining games, including the second leg against Bayern Munich at Camp Nou.
Although Barca dominated the game for the most part, the Nerazzuri continued to their game plan of attacking them on the break, which paid off shortly before halftime when Calhanoglu sent a shot past Ter Stegen from outside the box to give Inter a lead and rally the supporters.
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The Blaugrana hauled in Gerard Pique, Ansu Fati, Franck Kessie, and Alejandro Balde in an attempt to at least save a point, but all efforts to find an equalizer failed.
The Inter defense did a good job of marking Robert Lewandowski and making sure he never posed a threat to the tenacious Nerazzuri defense line, thus he basically remained mute during the game.
“I am pissed off by the situation we have had to live in. It is an injustice. I already said yesterday that the referees must explain themselves,” Xavi said.
“We do not understand anything. The referee would have to speak. I should not speak for a decision that I have not made.”
“For me it is very clear the hand. The referee should give explanations.”
“We woke up late. We bottled them up at the end but the chances didn’t come.”
“We knew that the shot from outside the area was one of their virtues. We have three finals left,” he said.
“I am worried about the defeat. Bayern have nine points, Inter have six and we have three. The situation is complex.”
“We’ll be waiting for the return leg in Barcelona. With the support of our fans, it will be a different story,” Barcelona captain Sergio Busquets stated.
Barcelona will face Inter next week at the Camp Nou and it’s a must-win game for the Blaugrana’s if they are to avoid the Europa League.
Also read: xavi-on-cl-clash-i-dont-want-to-change-the-style-that-has-improved-us/
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