FC Barcelona never gives up. This was demonstrated on Wednesday at the Lluís Olympic Stadium, facing a full Inter Milan (3-3). Notably, this was in the Champions League semi-finals, after starting the match very poorly with a 0-2 deficit in the first few minutes. However, Flick’s ability to react is enormous, and once again they proved that they cannot be underestimated.
The 3-3 final score, which could have ended in victory for Inter Milan after a few moments where the ship seemed to be taking on water, leaves the path to the final wide open. A win at Giuseppe Meazza will be needed next Tuesday if Barça wants to make it to the final in Munich.
Previous Encounters
But what do the precedents say about this situation? In total, there have been 15 occasions where a European tie for Barça ended in a draw in the first leg played at home. Of these 15, on seven occasions, the Catalans progressed to the next round, two of which were against Italian teams.
These instances include Fiorentina in the 1997 European Cup Winners’ Cup semi-finals (1-1 in the first leg, 0-2 in the return leg); and Napoli in the 2022 Europa League play-off (also 1-1 in the first leg, 2-4 in the return leg).
The other precedents are against Polish side Lech Poznan in the 1988/89 Cup Winners’ Cup round of 16 (1-1 in the first leg, 1-1 in the return leg with Barça winning on penalties); Legia Warsaw in the 1989/90 Cup Winners’ Cup first round (1-1 in the first leg, 0-1 in the return leg); PSV in the 1995/96 UEFA Cup quarter-finals (2-2 in the first leg, 2-3 in the return leg); Chelsea in the 2008/09 Champions League semi-final (0-0 in the first leg, 1-1 in the return leg, on the day of «Iniestazo,» where Barça progressed on away goals); and more recently, against Galatasaray in the 2021/22 Europa League round of 16 (0-0 in the first leg, 1-2 in the return leg).
And Inter Milan?
Similarly, the past encounters are in favor of Inter Milan. Out of 21 times they have drawn the first leg played away from home, they have progressed to the next round in 15 instances.
Of course, when facing the only Spanish team they encountered in this situation, Alavés in the 2000/01 UEFA Cup round of 16, they ended up prevailing in Milan (3-3 in the first leg in Vitoria, 0-2 in the return leg).