Inter
To break downTuesday night at San Sirois to relive a classic that may soon come to be regarded as the greatest European semi-final of them all. How to follow the near-perfection of the first leg? With an even better second leg. To dissipate the smoke from the fireworks, it still needs reminding that it was only for six minutes, after Raphinha’s strike, that Inter were actually behind in the tie.
The fact that those six minutes came as time was running out was the heroic part. Inter then showed the endeavour and self-belief that has carried them to the final. Simone Inzaghi has a collection of battle-hardened professionals, veterans who had seen just about everything in football. Apart from this. The swell of emotion that followed the final whistle saw Inter’s players, even in celebration, appear as stunned as Barcelona’s. So extraordinary was the semi-final that Yann Sommer, Inter’s goalkeeper, was rightly hailed as one of its heroes, despite conceding six goals.
Inzaghi’s use of subs kept his team fresh enough to deal with Barcelona’s flair, and when it came down to it, the team prepared to give more, give everything, came through the madness.
Paris Saint-Germain
Once Arsenal’s initial bombardment at the Parc des Princes had fizzled out, Wednesday saw the return of the resolve that has carried PSG to this point in the competition. It had required the enduring brilliance of Gianluigi Donnarumma in goal and the defensive leadership of Marquinhos to ward off that threat, but eventually an opponent over-committed to aggression left holes to exploit.
There was fortune – a deflection off William Saliba’s midriff – in Fabián Ruiz’s opener but the chances were already coming by then. The mobility of PSG’s attacks has made them one of the favourites for the competition since the start of the knockouts. Behind Désiré Doué and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, often overlapping beyond them, were Nuno Mendes and Achraf Hakimi. The latter’s goal took the tie away from Arsenal’s reach.
Having beaten Manchester City, Liverpool, Aston Villa and now Arsenal, France’s champions exerted superiority over the Premier League. Now to add Europe as a whole to that conquest.
Barcelona
By the end, desperation had taken hold. A season of close-run things had come to its logical conclusion. This time, there would be no escape like they had pulled offagainst Benfica in the group stageor hanging on grimly, as they did against Dortmund. In the closing moments against Inter, Barça’s tactics were unsophisticated: giving the ball to Lamine Yamal as quickly as possible and hoping the teenager could work another miracle. He will have to wait until he is at least 18 to win the trophy.
If any sensible conclusion can be drawn from more than 210 minutes of insanity over two legs, it is that Barça lack strength in key areas that their attack could not make up for. Inter’s Marcus Thuram, an uncomplicated striker, repeatedly bullied his way through a defence lacking organisation beyond playing the offside trap. When goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny retired to the beaches and golf courses of Andalucía last summer he did so believing his best days were behind him. His performances after Barcelona’s emergency call have done little to dissuade us he was right the first time.
A squad built on legally disputed finances did not grant Hansi Flick all the tools to win the competition. Instead, he rolled the dice with Barcelona’s high-risk, high-wire tactics. That’s something Uefa and those lucky enough to witness these two legs can be grateful for.
Arsenal
Mikel Arteta suugestedDonnarumma’s brilliance was key to PSG’s progress, but the Basque knows that a goalkeeper is a full part of football. “There hasn’t been a better team in the competition,” Arteta said of his players, citing PSG’s coaches. But he also admitted the damage had been done in “both boxes”. Perhaps things might have been different had Bukayo Saka not missed the unmissable in the 80th minute of the second leg, just as PSG began to wobble.
Scoring goals and creating high-end chances is where Arsenal’s season has fallen short. Another week, another question of recruitment. Would a proper striker have made a difference? Arsenal have done wonderfully well to get so far in the competition without one. In defence, perhaps this was a game too far for Myles Lewis-Skelly, who was too often caught in possession. Declan Rice spoke afterwards of a learning experience for a young team. But the disappointment of losing a semi-final was a harsh lesson.
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Francesco Acerbi (Inter)
Amid all the emotion that filled the San Siro air, its biggest swell was the story of Acerbi, the 37-year-old defender whose goal, scored with the precision of an elite striker, secured extra time. His shirt-off celebration revealed a gallery of tattoos telling his tale. The journeyman, and one-time Milan player, has struggled with testicular cancer, alcohol, depression and bereavement. His goal was his first ever in theChampions League.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Inter)
One of Inzaghi’s prime skills is squeezing the residual talent from players whose best days were supposed to be behind them. A decade ago at Dortmund the Armenian was regarded as the best attacker in German football, a true flair player. At 36, his former thrust gone, he is a wily, energetic midfielder, his distribution still first rate. Amid the chaos, he kept his cool, supplying Inter’s runners with their bullets. When he could give no more, he was replaced by Davide Frattesi, who scored the decider.
Denzel Dumfries (Inter)
For all the stars on show over two legs, it turned out the most vital player was the unsung Dutch wing-back, whose speed and tenacity suited Inzaghi’s plan. Inter had just 29% possession at the San Siro but Barcelona’s high line offered Dumfries space to run free. Dumfries, who scored two goals in the first-leg, supplied Lautaro Martínez’s opener and Acerbi’s equaliser on Tuesday. Of Inter’s seven goals over two legs, Dumfries scored two and assisted three.
Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG)
It is probably going to take a disastrous performance in the final for the Italian to lose the crown as best player in the tournament. He has proven a keeper can be just as important as a forward, and his saves during Arsenal’s early attacks on Wednesday helped break their resolve. One save, down low, almost sight unseen, as Martin Ødegaard smashed the ball through a forest of legs, was as good as it gets. Arteta could not help mentioning his team’s chief tormentor repeatedly after the match.
João Neves (PSG)
At the Parc des Princes, whenever the ball came loose, it seemed it was Neves who was forever picking up the pieces and setting up the next wildcard attack down PSG’s flanks. “Tiny”, according to one observer who passed the 20-year-old in the post-match scramble – he packs a heavy punch to go along with his deep talent. PSG resolved to recruit differently, buying promising players rather than proven stars. Even at €60m, Neves fits the template perfectly.