Barcelona return to the spotlight of Europe’s grandest stage on Tuesday, chasing a sixth Champions League crown and redemption at San Siro after a breathless 3-3 first-leg draw with Inter Milan.
The Catalans were left bloodied but unbeaten after a chaotic opening chapter at Montjuïc, where defensive rigidity met explosive flair.
Inter drew first blood just 30 seconds in – the fastest semifinal goal in tournament history – as Marcus Thuram’s fancy flick stunned the hosts and set the tone for a European classic.
But Barcelona, riding the wave of Hansi Flick’s high-octane system, punched back with equal fury.
Teenage phenom Lamine Yamal scored a thunderbolt and orchestrated much of the damage.
Raphinha added bite on the wing, and by full-time, the two heavyweights had shared six goals in a pulsating semifinal that left the tie perfectly poised.
Barcelona now head to the lion’s den of San Siro – a stadium where Inter haven’t lost in their last 15 Champions League home games, winning 12.
History, however, offers little comfort to the Blaugrana: they’ve won just once in six visits to Inter’s fortress and boast a miserable record in Italy with only five wins in 24 European trips.
Still, Flick’s Barcelona have been nothing short of electric.
With 40 goals in this Champions League campaign, they’re within striking distance of the club’s own tournament record (45 in 1999-2000).
Raphinha has contributed directly to 20 of those – trailing only Cristiano Ronaldo’s legendary 2013-14 season – while Yamal, still just a teen, has five goals, rubbing shoulders with Mbappe, Haaland and Raul in the record books.
Since their quarterfinal loss to Dortmund’s reserves in a dead rubber, Barca have reeled off wins against Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final and Real Valladolid in La Liga, tightening their grip on domestic dominance.
With the Spanish Super Cup already in the bag, a treble remains firmly within reach.
But this semi is no formality.
Inter, who outmuscled Barcelona at this very stage en route to their 2010 title under Mourinho, are battle-hardened once again.
Simone Inzaghi’s side stormed through the group with 19 points – matching Barca – and eliminated Feyenoord and Bayern Munich on the way to the last four.
Their defense had been near-impenetrable, with only five goals conceded and eight clean sheets before last week's shootout.
Inzaghi’s team mirrors Mourinho’s old guard in age and experience.
Though their Coppa Italia exit to AC Milan derailed treble dreams, and they’ve fallen behind Napoli in Serie A, they remain a unit that knows how to grind out results in Europe.
But they’ll be without their talisman on Tuesday.
Lautaro Martinez, the club’s top scorer, is sidelined with a hamstring injury, along with French defender Benjamin Pavard. That opens the door for either Mehdi Taremi or Marko Arnautovic to lead the line.
Inzaghi rotated heavily in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Verona, ending a five-game winless run.
Kristjan Asllani netted early, while key men like Dumfries, Thuram, Mkhitaryan and Sommer were rested and will return to face Barca.
Barcelona also shuffled their deck ahead of the showdown.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen started his first game since injury, and stars including Yamal, Raphinha, and Pau Cubarsi are expected to return to the XI.
Jules Kounde remains out, but there’s optimism around the returns of Robert Lewandowski and Alejandro Balde, both of whom could make the bench.
Flick, a Champions League winner with Bayern, has restored confidence and clarity to Barcelona’s play. Tuesday’s mission is clear: end a decadelong wait for a final, overcome history and silence the San Siro.
The stakes are a ticket to Berlin and a showdown with either Arsenal or PSG.
