Acerbi hugs coach Inzaghi after a resounding victory - Photo: REUTERS
And those "old men" gave the young men of Barca a great lesson about football.
The "old men"
In terms of experience and youth, Inter - Barca is the most contrasting confrontation. While Inter is the oldest team in the tournament, Barca is the youngest with an average age of only 25.1. This means that on average each Barca player is 5 years younger than Inter Milan.
In reality, the gap on the pitch is even bigger. In midfield, Pedri often faces a Calhanoglu who is 9 years older than him (31 compared to 22). That is also the age gap between Cubarsi (18, Barca) and Thuram of Inter. And in attack, Yamal faces a player who is the same age as his father - Acerbi (17 compared to 37). Every time he gets past Acerbi and Bastoni, Yamal faces goalkeeper Sommer who is only 1 year younger than Acerbi.
And it was Acerbi and Sommer who brought Inter Milan a great victory. For Acerbi, it was really confusing that an old, slow center-back could appear in the opponent's penalty area during a counter-attack and then quickly finish from a cross from a teammate.
As for Sommer, he is Inter Milan's only hope in the confrontation against Lamine Yamal. The history of the Champions League has witnessed unstoppable "monsters" in each stage.
Like Messi in the 2010-2011 and 2014-2015 seasons, Ronaldo in the 2016-2017 season, or Benzema in the 2021-2022 season. And this season, Yamal is the one who is approaching that level. The 17-year-old striker successfully completed 14 dribbles - a real record. All football websites gave Yamal the highest score.
If it weren't for Sommer's magic fingers at the end of the second period of extra time, the match would probably have gone into a penalty shootout.
Lamine Yamal is very talented but could not help Barca reach the Champions League final - Photo: Reuters
The weaker, the more powerful
In many cases, success or failure cannot be used to judge a hero. The exciting battle between Inter Milan and Barca is a typical case. Barca lost to Inter Milan because of their inexperience. In the 90+3 minute, they pushed their formation too high and then lost miserably because of a not-so-special counterattack from their opponent.
But on the other hand, it must also be acknowledged that it was the youth that helped Barca fight without fear. In both the first and second leg matches, they faced a 2-goal deficit, and then equalized the score as a matter of course. But along with youth comes immaturity, when they had the advantage in their hands, Barca did not know how to hold on.
In the end, Inter Milan deserves more praise. Because they are rated lower, have less financial resources and have a more "common" squad. In terms of squad value, Inter Milan is only valued at 663 million euros by Transfermarkt, while Barca is valued at more than 1 billion euros.
And when put in such circumstances, the Italians often achieve classic feats. From the 2006 World Cup to Euro 2020, all those feelings of disbelief, surprise, and admiration were evident in the image of Inter Milan in the match early this morning.
The last time Inter Milan won the Champions League was 15 years ago. But that year, Inter Milan was a glamorous, "galactic" team with all foreign stars, to the point that their starting lineup for the final that year did not include any Italian players.
But after more than a decade, Simone Inzaghi is building an Inter Milan as great as Mourinho's legendary generation with resources mainly based on local players.
There were 6 Italian players on the field last night, and 2 of them scored the decisive goals (Acerbi and Frattesi). The rest of the squad is not full of flashy stars. There is Mkhitaryan, who seems to have passed his prime. There is Iranian Taremi. There is Lautaro Martinez, who has just returned from injury... They are led by Simone Inzaghi - a former player who is always overshadowed by his senior Filippo in terms of name.
But this is the second time Inter Milan have reached the Champions League final in the last three years - a consistency and class that can be compared to Real Madrid.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/champions-league-su-kinh-dien-cua-nguoi-y-20250508061945845.htm
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