Not afraid of life, because of the unique tricks, Barcelona and Inter Milan have allowed fans to see what a high-end game is!

The goal like a bamboo among the plum blossoms, the ups and downs of the game, and the showdown between the strongest forward line in Europe and the strongest defense line in the Champions League, produced unexpected results. The war of attrition between Yamal and Inter Milan's left-wing main player has become the decisive factor affecting the trend of this game. In addition to this core showdown, Marcus Toulam, Dumfries, Rafinia and Ferran Torres took turns to steal the spotlight. Both coaches played all their trump cards, and the two sides joined forces to contribute a wonderful goal battle to the fans.

[Turam made a comeback in time, Inter Milan successfully started]

Barcelona's starting lineup has not many secrets, and Frick used the 11 starters in the final of the Cup final last weekend. During the preparation stage of this game, the injuries of Paval and Marcus Toulam were touching. The former failed to catch up with the first leg. Veteran Damian was already difficult to adapt to the game of this intensity. Although Bisek made many mistakes recently, he still got the opportunity to start at the Camp Nou. Marcus Toulam eventually outperformed the time, which is the key to Inter Milan being able to successfully start the game.

In the process of entering the Champions League final in 2022/23, Inzaji had three forwards who could score goals, and now only two main players can output stably, which is one of the important reasons why the team cannot complete the championship in the third line. In addition to the few firepower points, the goals of Inter Milan's two strikers are not even in time and space distribution. Lautaro can score every 81 minutes in the Champions League, and the goal efficiency is higher than that of Rafinia and Lewandowski. 14 of Marcus Toulam's 17 goals appeared in the Serie A arena.

From a three-game losing streak in the civil war to a draw with Barcelona away, Marcus Toulam made a comeback, Inter Milan's goal count immediately reached the standard.

Just as Lautaro kept refreshing his Champions League goal account, Marcus Toulam also became the key man. When he was unable to play, the Nerazzurri average goals per game dropped from 2.3 to 0.3. Inter Milan lacks speed players, and two forwards must rely on the cooperation to control the ball in order to lead the midfield and the players on both wings to participate in the offense.

【Catch points with strength, "no forward" beats a forward]

When it was found that the Barcelona players were in a slow state, Inter Milan dared to invest more troops to participate in the attack. Not only did the two wingbacks repeatedly enter the frontcourt, but two wingbacks also appeared in the frontcourt ribs, which gave them the opportunity to attack corner kicks. As a team that relies heavily on crosses in sports wars, Inter Milan's set-piece offensive ability is naturally no problem, and this advantage is further magnified when facing Barcelona's defense line.

Inter's offensive was led by double strikers, and Marcus Toulam's comeback was very timely.

Faced with an unfavorable situation of falling behind two goals, Barcelona strengthened high-level pressure and counterattack in the frontcourt. When the home team completely curbed Inter Milan's counterattack threat, they could continue to create murderous intent through the "Yamar Corridor".

Even if the counter-robbery cannot be successfully completed, the Barcelona players will try their best to chase back and force their opponents to make mistakes.

When veteran Lewandowski serves as the starter, Frick will ask the winger to lead the pressure, and the full-backs will move forward with the trend. Doing so will leave more space on the wings of the backcourt. When Ferran Torres partnered with Ormo, Barcelona could exert pressure from the "double striker" in the frontcourt, which could not only form a tight network in the frontcourt, but also not give opponents an opportunity to take advantage of in the backcourt. Rafinia can freely switch positions with Ferran Torres, Ormo and others, and defensive players can easily run away from their repeated impacts and pulls.

Frick's persistence in high-level defense means that Barcelona needs to try to extend the time for pressure and pressing in the frontcourt. If offside tactics are not used, players will waste their physical fitness on the round-trip running, and the shortcomings of technical players in confrontation will be magnified. Kubasi and Pedri and others can defeat their opponents alive with their feet, but the defense line they support is difficult to resist the opponent's continuous siege.

【Yamar tops two, Inter Milan unites as one person】

8 clean sheets have been completed in the past 12 games, and Inter Milan has performed very well in the defense of the Champions League this season. The main ways to deal with the 5-3-2 defensive formation include forced wing breakthroughs, crossing from the wing and long shots. In the absence of Lewandowski, Barcelona's main way to break through is Yamal's personal attack and Rafinia's long shots.

Yamar has both No. 7 and No. 10 attributes. He can not only use individual attacks to lead the face with points, but also helps his teammates enter the role as the front midfielder. After two injuries at the beginning of this season, Yamal is now paying more attention to controlling the rhythm on the court, and is more willing to move closer to the middle rib, and sending a pass after flashing out of space. This move can not only reduce the risk of injury, but also better create opportunities for teammates.

Yamar will not pursue the bottom too much. He will send a wonderful pass if he sees the opportunity, which is unpredictable.

Yamar's strong attack made Inter Milan very uncomfortable. This is because the left-wing defender Dimarco is characterized by strong offense and weak defense. The left midfielder Mkhitaryan, who is responsible for assisting defense, is also not good at defense. Bastoni cooperates with Archerby to limit the interlude between Ferran Torres and Ormo, and does not have much energy to deal with the crisis of the left gate. Perhaps it was because he believed that the physical condition of the two strikers should not bear too much consumption. Inzaghi did not ask Marcus Touram and Lautaro to shrink further backwards, and Yamal could easily hold the ball on the side rib and press into the penalty area.

Inter Milan's 5-3-2 formation has room in the ribs, which is Yamal's channel..

【The left gate alarm sounds for a long time, using attack instead of defense to protect the draw】

Inter Milan's average age is 30 years and 56 days, setting a record for the Champions League semi-finals since the 2016/17 season. It is 5 years older than Barcelona (25.5 years old). If you cannot rely on your skills and experience to establish a leading advantage in the first half, you will easily collapse when you lose physically after being physically exhausted. Inter Milan lost points in the last four times in five important derbys this season. The only loss in the Champions League was due to failure to defend at the last moment. The limitations of the veteran lineup were already very obvious. After Yamal's edge was curbed, Rafinia tried to shoot from a long distance.

Surprisingly, Barcelona, ​​which was the first to make adjustments. Frick replaced Araujo after the change of sides, aiming to resist the impact of Marcus Toulam and Dumfries. The opponent sent out a signal to strengthen the defense, and Inzagi took advantage of the situation to make the substitution time. Dimarco was replaced by Augusto in the 56th minute. Yamal's edge was curbed to a certain extent, and Rafinia's frequency of taking photos began to increase.

Dimfries scored twice, Dimarco's shot was already very close to the goal.

In addition to relying on substitutions to strengthen the defense line, Inzaji also asked the players to move the defense line forward and relieve the pressure in the backcourt by strengthening the offense. Dumfries repeatedly created murderous intent. Mkhitaryan sent good balls many times after moving to the middle of the town. After Taremi appeared, he completed the connection and wall tasks continuously. The connection of these links brought about a continuous offensive, and Inter Milan scored again through a corner kick. There is no iron waist in front of the defense line to provide protection, and no one of the four central defenders can expand the defense zone. Barcelona's defense line was born to create offside tactics. Facing a team like Inter Milan that promotes pass-through and cutting with experience and technology, it is not surprising that it has lost 3 goals in the extreme backcourt configuration.

【Summary】

When coaching Bayern Munich and the German national team, Frick had already experienced the weightlessness of opening high and closing low. In the last two months of 2024, Barcelona lost 16 points in eight league games. At that time, public opinion was generally worried that the German coach would repeat the same mistake.

After experiencing the "Battle of Kings Mountain" against Atletico Madrid, Frick and the players used the Christmas-New Year holiday to re-clutter their ideas and find a new path to cross the tactical fog. In this process, Yamal continued to make progress, Rafinia was in a hot state, Ferran Torres withstood the test at a critical moment, Barcelona's forward line always maintained a stable and efficient output, and the fragile special defense line would not become a burden on their way to the championship.

In the Champions League this season, Inter Milan recorded an excellent away record with tenacious defense, excellent passes and efficient set-piece offense, and these elements were fully demonstrated in this game. From winning the Italian Cup, to entering the Champions League final, to winning Serie A, Inter Milan has been in the position of Inzaghi Jr. The dream of the triple crown has been shattered, and the initiative in the Serie A championship battle has been lost. There is only one way to the Champions League before Inzaji and his disciples, that is, to accumulate strength in the league this weekend and concentrate all efforts to play the second leg of the semi-finals next week.