If one were to say to us that Barcelona would have well over two-thirds possession against and outshot Inter at the San Siro, it was safe to say that they were just a formality away from heading to Madrid. Barcelona woud then suffer the biggest defeat of the Guardiola era at the hands of Inter 3-1.
The match on Tuesday was exactly that as Barcelona appeared for the first 20 minutes and seemed lost after Pedro's goal. Jose Mourinho perfected what Mauricio Pochettino did at the weekend as he was able shut the Barcelona breakout and were effective on the attack. Their opportunities were quality and they cashed in on mistakes.
Barca lost the big matchup
The problem became the midfield that was virtually non-existent. Xavi looked limited on both ends. He was by himself on the breakouts while he had to switch over towards Sergi Busquets to help him on the mark. This allowed Wesley Sneijder to be wide open. This was how Barca were scored on in the 30th minute when Samuel Eto'o passed the ball to Diego Milito and he would find Sneijder all alone.
Sergio Busquets spent his time fighting more than playing and was one of the five blaugrana that saw yellow. Xavi was unable to distribute and Inter challenged Seydou Keita to perform that function. One thing was for sure, Andrés Iniesta was missed big time.
Sneijder, Thiago Motta, and Goran Pandev, and Dejan Stankovic were absolute workmen in the midfield. They outworked, outhustled and were outprepared Barcelona.
These players were able to layer Lionel Messi and render him ineffective during the 90 minutes.
Pandev started the breakout that led to the go-ahead goal as he found Milito and Maicon would fly in down the middle and coolly beat Victor Valdés.
Big game hunter?
Samuel Eto'o put his hunger for glory behind him in an effort to win. His role was more inclined to clean the area and give room to Milito in the middle. He did help out in the first and third goal as he was the player that put the ball in the box for Sneijder and Milito's goal.
The gamble that didn't pay off
Pep Guardiola is known for being ballsy in his changes, but he was absolutely wrong in changing Zlatan Ibrahimovic for Éric Abidal. Barca lost their presence in the box and that helped Inter close in the ranks and tighten up spaces in the middle.
Guardiola also did not use his two remaining substitutions to bring in either Thierry Henry or Bojan Krkic. Instead the biggest offensive threat in the final stages of the match was Gerard Piqué. He pushed up and was almost playing at the nine spot left vacant by Ibra.
Man of the match
It would be the right thing to give it to the entire Inter side. But the player that truly made an impact on the game was Goran Pandev. His inlcusion in the starting XI gave another dimension to Inter. Although he did not play the entire match (Dejan Stankovic came in for him) Pandev gave Inter the balance they needed. Obviously he was key in the marking of Messi and breaking out on the attack.
"Pandev was the difference maker. He brought intelligence and order to our game today."-Samuel Eto'o
Now Barca face the adversity that they have never experienced in the Guardiola era. Down two goals and heading home isn't a scenario facing them in this recent stretch of success. So now with Carles Puyol out, they will have to play one of those epic matches that have made this team what it is.
No excuses. Not the bus ride. Not the volcano. Nothing. Barca did not perform and that is it.
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