They say age brings wisdom, but it also brings muscles and ligaments that make audible noises. Inter Milan experienced both in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal against Barcelona.
There weren't too many secrets before this one: Inter have played the same way for years now, setting up in a 3-5-2 that can morph into five at the back when necessary. They'll defend deep, and spring into a counter thanks to the next-level understanding that strikers Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram both possess. They just had to pick their spots against Barca, who would play as if they just heard the announcement for final boarding.
Barca gave them an opening before anyone had time to crack open a beer: Is this enough space out wide?
This is the brinksmanship that Barca always engages in. They will set a criminally high line as close to the halfway line as they can, keep it there and wager that their angry mob of a press will keep teams from finding the space behind it. Sadly, 15 seconds into the game is probably just a touch too early for an opponent to have withered under such stress, and Denzel Dumfries found it way too simple to eventually set up the first goal.
Of course, Inter having a lineup in which eight of the 10 outfield players were 28 or older comes with its own complications. In order to get at Barcelona's funhouse defense, a team has to play at such a pace to get through their press that they usually can't sustain it. Having a midfield comprised of players who require an extra 20 minutes on the massage table every day isn't conducive for that, which is why players like Nicolo Barella and Hakan Çalhanağlou, some of the cleanest users of the ball in Serie A, had passing percentages below 70 percent in this one. They were just a half-step behind and closed down before they could release teammates into the acres of greenage ahead.
Inter's plans for defense involve having five back to spread across the field and cut off the wide areas while not surrendering the channels between their defenders. Great plan, but it doesn't do much against useful exuberance like this from Lamine Yamal:
Or marking like this:
A deep block is well and good, but not if it's going to allow Pedri a War And Peace amount of time to pick out a pass to Raphinha. Inter struggled with that kind of movement all night: Pedir also completed 87 of 92 passes, which kind of indicates how little pressure Inter could exert on him. Hard to exert pressure with an oxygen mask.
This was the kind of trap they were in for most of the game. The opportunities to break were obvious, and when they hit them they created at least the corners from which they scored. But they also, most of the time, couldn't move the ball fast enough, which only resulted in a chance against them. Look at the knife's edge this is: Bastoni could hit this anywhere into Barca's half and Barella is poised to pounce, if not Dumfries or Thuram who are offside but moving back onside. But Bastoni can't launch it quick enough, and turns it over for a Barca chance:
Still, the old heads were able to score off two corners, taking advantage of Barcelona's pretty weak defending from set pieces — an effect of not having anyone in the team over 5-foot-10. Woe to Barca should they catch Arsenal in the final.
Inter will back themselves at home to get more looks against Barcelona's Russian Roulette way of defending. It's just a question of how much they have in the tank to keep their opponent from scoring more. Inter have been fading of late, losing their last three before this and looking pretty toothless while doing so, not scoring a single goal. The chase for three trophies has taken its toll on a team where the average age is over 29.
That age, though, also knows how to pick its spots. They know Barca is going to leave prairie-sized gaps behind them at times. They only needed three to get three goals on Wednesday. They'll only need a couple more to get to the final.