The big day is here! FC Barcelona stand just two games away from a place in the Champions League Final. All that stands between them now is Inter Milan, and tonight the Estadi Olimpic (9pm CEST) hosts the first leg, with the return at the Giuseppe Meazza coming six days later next Tuesday.
all about the game in our match center
And the team is brimming with confidence after defeating Real Madrid to win the Copa del Rey just four days ago, having already won the Spanish Super Cup this season and well on course to win La Liga too.
With the U19 team just having won the UEFA Youth League and with the women cruising into the UWCL Final, this is turning out to be a fairytale season for Barça, and the Champions League would be the icing on the cake… But the hardest part of Europe’s premier club competition is still to come.
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The prize is a date in Munich with either Arsenal or PSG. The French side are in the driving seat there after winning 1-0 at the Emirates on Tuesday, the goal scored former blaugrana Ousmane Dembele.
Contrasting form
Barça come into their own semi in extraordinary form. In all competitions, they have only lost one game in 2025, and that defeat in Dortmund barely counts because the result was still good enough to ensure they advanced to the semi-finals. They are still unbeaten at home this calendar year, and in the Champions League, they haven’t lost at the Estadi Olimpic once this season.
For Inter Milan, in contrast, things have all started going wrong in the last few weeks. Back-to-back defeats away to Bologna and at home to Roma mean they have been knocked off top spot in Serie A by Napoli, and in between they were soundly beaten by city rivals AC Milan in the final of the Coppa Italia.
In the Champions League, they finished an impressive fourth in the League Phase, losing just one game at Bayer Leverkusen, so like Barça they advanced straight into the last 16. There they defeated Feyenoord 4-1 on aggregate to earn a meeting with mighty Bayern Munich in the quarter finals. A 2-1 win in Bavaria was followed by a 2-2 draw at home, and here they are preparing to face Barça in what promises to be a fierce clash of polar opposites.
Barça have the best attacking record in the whole competition (37 goals in 12 games, an astounding 3.1 per game), but Simone Inzaghi has coached the most defensively solid team, leaking just five goals and keeping 8 clean sheets in their 12 games played so far.
Past meetings
Fairs Cup Quarter Final 1958-60
Barça 4-0 Inter / Inter 4-2 Barça (Barça advanced 8-2 on aggregate)
Fairs Cup Third Round 1969-70
Barça 1-2 Inter / Inter 1-1 Barça (Inter advanced 3-2 on aggregate)
Champions League Group Stage 2002-03
Barça 3-0 Inter / Inter 0-0 Barça (Both teams advanced to the next round)
Champions League Group Stage 2009-10
Inter 0-0 Barça / Barça 2-0 Inter (Both teams advanced to the next round)
Champions League Semi-Final 2009-10
Inter 3-1 Barça / Barça 1-0 Inter (Inter advanced 4-1 on aggregate)
Champions League Group Stage 2018-19
Barça 2-0 Inter / Inter 1-1 Barça (Only Barça advanced to the next round)
Champions League Group Stage 2019-20
Barça 2-1 Inter / Inter 2-1 Barça (Only Barça advanced to the next round)
Champions League Group Stage 2022-23
Inter 1-0 Barça / Barça 3-3 Inter (Only Inter advanced to the next round)
If this fixture sounds familiar, then that’s because Barça have only played two other teams (AC Milan and Chelsea) more often than Inter in European competitions, and the vast majority of those games have been this century.
However, this is only the second time that the European giants have clashed in the Champions League knockout stage, and the only previous example is not a fond memory for the Catalans. In that famous clash between Pep Guardiola and José Mourinho in 2010, the Italians ended up winning 3-2 on aggregate to qualify for the final, which they would go on to win against Bayern Munich in Madrid.
That was the third and, to date, final time that Inter have lifted the trophy, and the only time in the ‘modern’ era (the first two titles were back-to-back in 1964 and 1965)
Team news
FC Barcelona are missing all of Robert Lewandowski, Alejandro Balde, Marc Bernal and Marc Casadó to injury. Goalkeeper Marc Andre ter Stegen is fully fit again and in the squad, although coach Hansi Flick insisted at his pre-game press conference that he is sticking with Wojciech Szczęsny.
Inter Milan are coming to Catalonia without the injured French international defender Benjamin Pavard, while there are question marks concerning the fitness of his compatriot Marcus Thuram, son of former Barça man Lilian.
Argentine striker Lautaro Martínez is one of the main men to look out for in this game. The 27-year-old has scored in his last five Champions League outings with Inter and has eight goals in total. Serhou Guirassy of Dortmund (13 goals) is the outright top scorer, but his Dortmund are no longer involved and Barça’s Raphinha is just one behind the Guinean in 12.
What they’re saying
Lamine Yamal gave a remarkably composed and mature press conference on Tuesday, saying “Everyone knows that Inter are a really strong side and are really strong at the back. They are good in attack too as when they get the ball back they counter quickly … However, we are good with the ball and we will do everything we can to do play how we normally play and get a great result. It’s a Champions League semi-final and we are playing for a place in the final – both sides will give their all.” FULL STORY HERE
Coach Hansi Flick also spoke to the media, saying “”It’s the semi-finals of the Champions League and both teams want to get through. We are two games away from the final and we can’t be tired. Everyone is focused knows how important this semi-final is. The Copa del Rey final was demanding for us, it’s true but the victory can help us. We have to give 100%.” FULL STORY HERE
Inter coach Simone Inzaghi and forward Lautaro Martínez also took to the mike, and you can find out what they had to say here.
