FC Barcelona once again failed to win a match in the Champions League as they faced Inter Milan at the Camp Nou. The Blaugrana could only manage a last ditch draw in a Champions League which saw a 6-goal thriller. It was Robert Lewandowski’s last minute strike that helped Xavi’s men earn some respect and a point. But now the Catalans need luck to go their way in the other matches to get to the knockout phase of this competition.
Barcelona defender Eric Garcia has admitted that they have done some severe mistakes in defence which are not accepted at this level and hence they were penalized. Barcelona faced Inter Milan in a do or die game as they are third in the group behind Bayern Munich and the Nerazzurri. They desperately needed a win and they could only manage a draw which has pushed them a little more towards elimination from the Champions League.
The Blaugrana had the lead heading into halftime break as Ousmane Dembele broke the deadlock and there were positives all across the pitch for the Spanish outfit. Garcia also shared that the first half was full of positives with covering, pressing and stealing done right and even in the scoreline Barcelona were ahead. But the second half saw Inter Milan raising their offensive game led by Lautaro Martinez who had a fantastic game as he kept on bullying the Barcelona backline throughout the game.
Garcia admitted that the 15 minutes of lack of control in the second half became the difference between qualifying for the knockouts or going down to the Europa League. “We have made mistakes that cannot be made at this level. We are not out but it is complicated. We have to continue while there is some hope. I think that in the first half we were where we wanted, pressing high, stealing balls. We wanted to continue in the same way, but in the second there was a lack of control and there were 15 minutes that killed us,” Eric Garcia admitted after the 3-3 draw against the Nerazzurri.
He shared how the opportunity was there to take all three points but still they failed to make the most out of it. However Garcia wants the team to forget about this result as they would want to travel to Bernabeu with confidence as they look to hold their lead in La Liga. “Today we had a huge opportunity and we didn’t take advantage of it. We had to get something positive out of today. We know that we have to recover quickly mentally because today is a hard blow. We have to go to the Bernabéu with the confidence to continue as leaders.”
FC Barcelona are still third in their group, they are three points behind Inter Milan currently and will hope that they secure wins against Bayern Munich and Viktoria Plzen in the remaining two fixtures in the Champions League group stage. However that won’t be enough for them to qualify as they will have to hope and pray that Inter Milan drop points in their next two fixtures.
