It was as tense as a game can be. Both sides knew what they needed: Barcelona a two goal win, Inter Milan anything but.
In the end, the latter came to pass, as Inter, reduced to 10 men in the first half, held on for a 1-0 loss at the Camp Nou, giving the visiting Italians a 3-2 victory on aggregate.
From the start, the noise and passion inside Barça’s stadium was palpable, and the home side rode the supporters’ energy to spark attack after attack. Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Pedro all endeavored to break through the Inter defense—to no avail. Lúcio and Walter Samuel held strong each time. Or resorted to fouling, such as when Thiago Motta drew a yellow card for a hard foul on Dani Alves in the 10th minute.
It was a classic attack-vs.-defense battle, with Inter content to sit back and launch half-hearted counterattacks through Wesley Sneijder and Samuel Eto’o.
Everything was going according to Inter boss José Mourinho’s plan until the 28th minute, when Motta picked up a controversial second yellow. The Brazilian midfielder appeared to strike Sergio Busquets’ face incidentally as they two players challenged for a loose ball. The Barça man, however, crumbled to the ground clutching his face, and referee Frank de Bleeckere gave Motta his marching orders.
After the sending off, the game grew even more tense and chippy as Barcelona surged forward and Inter thwarted every advance, swarming on defense and fearlessly willing to concede freekicks around the box. One of those fouls, committed in the 44th minute about 25 yards out in the middle nearly led to Barça’s breakthrough, but Ibrahimovic’s hard-hit free kick whistled just wide of the post.
The second half mirrored the first, with the Blaugrana besieging the Inter defense again and again. However, they created few clear chances.
Messi came close with a shot in the 65th minute, forcing Inter 'keeper Júlio César into an acrobatic save.
In the 82nd minute, Messi clipped a lovely ball up over the defense. Substitute Bojan Krkic was all alone on the edge of the six-yard box but glanced his header wide, perhaps distracted by Samuel’s flailing attempt.
Desperate to break through, Barça threw everyone forward, including center back Gerard Piqué, and the Spanish international responded with a brilliant goal. Xavi slipped a ball through the Inter defense, and Piqué did the rest, pirouetting around a defender and Júlio César, before calmly side-footing his shot into the open net for a 1-0 lead.
The Camp Nou erupted with joy and hope. Barça needed one more goal. But it didn’t come. The battle was won, but the war was lost.
Afterward, Mourinho celebrated on the field with his players, appearing to revel in the swirl of the Barça supporters’ disappointment. His actions incited Barcelona goalkeeper Víctor Valdés to confront the onetime Barcelona assistant manager, and the two had to be separated.
Inter now move on to their first European championship final in 38 years. They will face Bayern Munich on Saturday, May 22, at Madrid’s Estadio Bernabéu.
