Champions League Inter has the soul of the great teams: only a tip of the foot denies the feat. But it's Lautaro's anxiety

Barcelona - Champions League Inter still has a soul. The one typical of great teams. The one that reignites when history is at stake. A 3-3 at Montjuic it is precious baggage to take on board for the return to Milan, even for those who have always been ahead, even for a team that sees the 4-3 goal cancelled out for a tip of the foot. There is a qualification still in play and above all a confidence boost after three defeats in FIla. But there is also the painful thought: Lautaro Martinez's injuryWill the captain be at San Siro?

Lamine Yamal is an extraordinary player. There were no doubts even before tonight. The 1-2 goal is a precious gem, the next play that hits the crossbar is perhaps even more so, at least in its execution. At 17, taking your team and leading them back into the game by example is something very few can do, perhaps unprecedented if not speaking of a Brazilian nicknamed O'Rey. But those were different times, this is the present, and so we must move on. In a game that Inter could not prepare differently, but which they interpret with attention, the Nerazzurri can also be reproached for something.

In the first half Mkhitaryan, and above all Marco's, they wait too long for the number 19, without ever closing, giving him that space without physicality that the boy from Esplugues de Llobregat takes at his pleasure, even towering even in the ball recovery phase. Dimarco, as demonstrated by the substitution at the beginning of the second half, is not there at this point in the season (and with Carlos Augusto, not coincidentally, things change), Lautaro Martinez is not felt in the support and goes out at half-time due to a resentment to the flexors of the left thigh which, hopefully, will not have repercussions on the return match at San Siro.

Of course there is more, too, with Calhanoglu, Stretcher and the same Mkhitaryan not to give easy vertical passes to Pedri, and a physical presence that the Blaugrana cannot match. Thuram's opening goal is an individual masterpieceand the result of a great collective approach, Dumfries' goals were the result of that athletic prowess that the Nerazzurri, too overwhelmed in the first half, understood they had to exploit in the second half, perhaps also thanks to the exit of Jules Koundé.

A corner is enough to hurt a more enthusiastic, more technical team, so similar to Guardiola's best Barcelona, ​​but also absent-minded, due to age and the tactical imprint of its coach. In short, a feat in the return leg is possible, also and above all thinking about that tiptoe that denies Mkhitaryan's 4-3. Greater aggression will be needed, and above all not to lose other leaders along the way.