MILAN - A tough game which at one stage looked beyond us. Then, as ever, Mauro Icardi hauled us level, shaking us back to life and keeping us afloat. Tottenham’s win doesn’t scare us: it’s all down to us. Digging deep against an excellent Barcelona side proves our great character and, above all, gives us further self-belief. We have one of the best defences in Europe and the statistics off the ball paint a clear picture: Brozovic made more tackles (7) than anyone else, Perisic made four interceptions and De Vrij halted four dangerous moves from the Spaniards.
Handanovic deserves a special mention after several crucial stops (7 saves in total) and he was clear in his analysis post-match too: “Perhaps we could have done a bit more but these matches help you to develop.” Handanovic is right and he can be pleased with the performances of the rest of the back line, Skriniar in particular. The Slovakian shone at San Siro, winning six challenges out of seven, eight one against ones and completed 87.5% of his passes. Simply immense.
As we said, Barcelona played in our half of the pitch but, when we did manage to break, we did so at pace, above all after the interval. The hub of our play was Brozovic who kept things ticking over in the attacking third (55 short passes with a 94.1% completion rate in the Blaugrana half). He was the antidote to Valverde’s side’s passing. The Croatian frequently released Politano and Perisic, who battled and stretched Barcelona. The Croatian wide man created one chance and looked to cross the ball or play a forward pass with 85.7% of his touches. Lautaro Martinez also did well, coming on with the right attitude. He played a key role, along with Vecino, in the move that led to the equaliser.
Basically, it’s in our own hands. We needed to come away with at least a point and it’s mission accomplished. Now it’s time to focus on the next two because qualification is within our grasp. Forza Inter!
