Although Inter are sitting pretty at the top of Serie A with maximum points after six games, their Champions League endeavours have got off to an embarrassing start.
Antonio Conte’s side were staring down the barrel of an opening-game defeat to group F whipping boys Slavia Prague, only for I Nerazzurri to snatch a late equaliser ahead of their meeting with Spanish giants Barcelona.
Barça themselves escaped from Germany with a valuable point, as Borussia Dortmund missed a penalty and a whole host of chances to send the Spaniards home empty-handed.
A nice little rivalry has developed between the Italian and Spanish sides since a certain Jose Mourinho made it his life’s work to destroy the Catalan club at every possible moment.
I Nerazzurri knocked out Barca in dramatic fashion in Inter’s incredible run to Champions League success in 2010, and although the two sides have rarely met since, both will be out for revenge.
So, thanks to our friends at ?Opta, we’ve put together a few facts and stats to impress your mates ahead of tonight’s clash of the titans.
Catalan Dominance
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We gave a little mention to Inter’s 2010 success earlier, winning a famous treble under The Special One?. Well, that 3-1 victory against ?Barcelona at San Siro is in fact the only Nerazzurri victory over the Spanish side in their previous nine meetings.
Los Cules have won four of the contests, whilst drawing the other four, meaning Inter have their work cut out if they’re to buck this trend on Wednesday evening.
Don’t forget to show your pals the video of Mourinho running through the sprinklers on the Camp Nou turf.
Ah, Jose. You really were The Special One.
Home Comforts
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If you ?Inter fans are hoping for a more reassuring statistic to calm the nerves, you might want to look away now. Inter have lost five of their six visits to face Barcelona at the Camp Nou, winning the other in January 1970 in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (2-1), courtesy of goals from Roberto Boninsegna and Mario Bertini.
Let’s be honest, if you’re going to win once at Camp Nou, the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup is the one all supporters want. I’m getting teary just thinking about the trophy.
If it’s any comfort to Inter supporters, Barcelona’s home form across the entire competition is absolutely formidable.
Lionel Messi’s men have won 29 of their last 32 Champions League games at the Camp Nou, drawing three, with their last defeat dating back to May 2013 against Bayern Munich.
Home sweet home.
Messi Misery for Serie A
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?Messi is pretty good at football isn’t he? Well, he seems to have a real affinity for playing against Italian sides. The magic man has been directly involved in 15 goals in his last 17 Champions League appearances against Italian teams, bagging 12 goals and laying on three assists.
There is a slither of hope for Inter though – Messi has never scored against I Nerazzurri…
Counting on Conte
Italian bosses are considered some of the best in the business, but when it comes to visits to Catalonia, they all seem to hit the same stumbling block.
No Italian manager has won at the Camp Nou in the UEFA Champions League since April 2003, when Marcello Lippi won 2-1 with Juventus in the quarter-final. From that moment on, Italian managers have lost ten and drawn five encounters in Spain.
Current Inter boss Antonio Conte was an unused sub during Lippi’s Camp Nou success, and he’ll be drawing on all his experience from that night to upstage Ernesto Valverde’s men.
Both Barrels Barella
Nicolò Barella is not known for his scoring expertise, but he’s on the cusp of joining a prestigious list of Italian legends on Wednesday evening.
Barella is looking to become only the fourth Italian player to score in consecutive UEFA Champions League appearances for the club, after Roberto Baggio (1998), Christian Vieri (2003) and Giampaolo Pazzini (2011).
This next statistic may put a pin in those hopes, however.
Goalscoring Woes
Neither side are in the best form when it comes to scoring in Europe’s biggest tournament. Inter have failed to score in more away games against Barcelona than they have versus any other team in European competition in their history (5/6).
Meanwhile, Barcelona have drawn blanks in their last two Champions League matches – they have never gone three games without a goal in the competition.
Floodgates ready to burst open tonight?
Barcelona Blanks
It’s not just finishing which is Barcelona’s problem – creating chances is proving an issue too. Barcelona had just seven shots in their matchday one goalless draw with ?Borussia Dortmund, their fewest in a UEFA Champions League group stage match since December 2015 against Bayer Leverkusen (6).?
Bored-celona? I’ll get my coat.
Away Day Blues
Let’s end with a stat to fire up those Inter boys. ?
Inter have lost their last two away UEFA Champions League matches, with one of those at Camp Nou against Barcelona – they have never lost three in a row in the competition.
Third time lucky for the Italian giants?
Let’
