Big Match Feature: Inter Milan v Barcelona

Following their 1-0 away win at Arsenal in the first leg, Paris Saint-Germain are now the favourites to win this season’s Uefa Champions League (42 per cent) and are given a 78 per cent chance of progressing to the final, according to Opta Predictor. Catch all the action live on SuperSport, build-up starts at 8pm CAT.

There is very little between Inter Milan and Barcelona in the other semifinal, with the Spanish side still a marginal favourite (55 per cent) of progressing to the final ahead of Inter (45 per cent).

GOALS FLOWING IN 2024-25 UCL

Given there are 64 extra games in this season’s Uefa Champions League than there were last season, it will come as little surprise that the goal tally for 2024-25 is comfortably the most of all-time, with 603 goals.

However, this season has also seen the joint most goals per game in the competition’s history – 3.24 per game – level with the 2019-20 campaign, when 386 were scored in 119 games.

The semifinal first leg between Barcelona and Inter was a typical case in point, with six goals shared between the sides. 12.4 per cent of games this season have seen six or more goals – the highest ratio in the competition’s history.

Barcelona lead the scoring this season with 40 goals and are chasing down the all-time record of 45, which was set by the Catalan side themselves in the 1999-00 campaign.

It is interesting to note that the two seasons with the highest goals per game are two of the three that have featured manager Hans Dieter-Flick, with his Bayern side lifting the trophy in 2019-20, scoring 43 goals along the way (30 in 8 games with him in charge).

Flick has been fortunate enough to work with some of Europe’s top attacking talent in his time in the competition – including Robert Lewandowski at both clubs – and needs three more goals to reach 100 goals in the competition as manager. The second leg will be his 32nd game in charge, with 44 games the current fewest to 100, achieved by fellow Champions League winners Pep Guardiola and Zinedine Zidane.

RAPHINHA’S CHANCE TO MAKE HISTORY

Another hugely talented player Flick has at his disposal this season is the silky yet industrious Brazilian winger Raphinha, who has been at the top of his game. His deft headed assist for Ferran Torres’ equalising goal in the first leg was his 20th goal involvement (12 goals, 8 assists) of the season, becoming only the third player to hit that total in a campaign, along with Cristiano Ronaldo (twice) and Robert Lewandowski.

Ronaldo has the record in 2013-14, when he had 17 goals and 4 assists, a milestone Raphinha has in his sights.

Only Joshua Kimmich has created more chances than Raphinha this season on 36, and one more assist for the Brazilian would also see him equal the all-time assist record in one season, set by Luís Figo in 1999-00 on nine with Barcelona.

PSG ON WALKWAY TO MUNICH

Paris Saint-Germain have one foot in the 2024-25 Uefa Champions League final in Munich following their 1-0 first leg away win at Arsenal.

PSG (164) and Arsenal (200) have played the most matches in the competition without ever winning it, and both have only ever had one taste of a final each. Paris SG do boast a manager who has won the trophy, however, with Luis Enrique leading Barcelona to triumph in 2015.

Arsenal, by contrast, have now gone six consecutive semifinal matches without scoring in all competitions, and will need to find their shooting boots if they are to progress to the final and potentially end that unwanted record of being the competition’s most experienced team without a trophy to show for it.

WHAT THE STATS SAY

This will be the 18th major European meeting between Inter and Barcelona, with only Bayern Munich v Real Madrid (28), Juventus v Real Madrid (21) and Inter v Real Madrid (19) played more often in history. Each of the last two games between the teams have ended 3-3, in the Uefa Champions League in October 2022 and this season’s first leg.

Barcelona have won just one of their six away Uefa Champions League matches against Inter (D3 L2), a 2-1 win in December 2019. Overall, Barca have managed just five wins in 24 away games in Italy (21 per cent), their lowest win ratio in any non-Spanish nation in the competition.

The first leg between Inter and Barcelona ended 3-3. Only three Uefa Champions League semifinals have seen 10+ goals scored on aggregate: Juventus 6-4 Monaco (1997-98), Liverpool 7-6 Roma (2017-18) and Real Madrid 6-5 Man City (2021-22).

Inter are looking to reach their third Uefa Champions League final since 1992 93 (also 2010 and 2023), while for Barcelona it would be their sixth final (1994, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2015), drawing level with Bayern Munich, Milan and Juventus for finals reached and behind only Real Madrid (9).

Barcelona have scored 40 goals in this season’s Uefa Champions League, the most by a side in a season since Bayern Munich in 2019-20 (43). The only other teams to score more than 40 in a season are Barca themselves in 1999-00 (45), Real Madrid in 2013-14 (41) and Liverpool in 2017-18 (41).

Inter are unbeaten in their last 15 home Uefa Champions League matches (W12 D3), their best unbeaten home streak in major European competition since a run of 27 between 1980 and 1987. They’ve also won nine of their last 11 home semifinal matches in Europe (D1 L1).

Raphinha has had a hand in 20 goals in this season’s Uefa Champions League (12 goals, 8 assists), with only Cristiano Ronaldo in 2013-14 (17 goals, 4 assists) having more in one season. The only player to assist more goals in a campaign was Luís Figo, also for Barcelona, in 1999-00 (9).

After one goal in his first 39 Uefa Champions League appearances, Inter’s Denzel Dumfries scored twice in the first leg. Should either he or teammate Marcus Thuram score in this game, they’d be the first to score in both legs of a European Cup semifinal for Inter since Giacinto Facchetti in 1966-67.

Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal has scored five Uefa Champions League goals this season, with only Erling Haaland (10 in 2019-20), Kylian Mbappe (6 in 2016-17) and Raúl (6 in 1995/96) scoring more in a season as a teenager. Yamal’s 44 shots, 19 shots on target and 78 dribbles are all the most Opta has on record since 2003-04 by a teenager in a season.

Pedri has completed 721 passes in this season’s Uefa Champions League, the most by a Spanish midfielder in a season for Barcelona since Sergio Busquets in 2018-19 (903). He’s also made 18 line-breaking passes leading to a shot, the most of any player still left in the competition.