Yamal drew in plaudits from the footballing world for his performance in the first leg against Inter, he had six shots overall in the game with two of these finding the target and one of those finding the back of the net.

He’s had 19 shots on target across his 12 appearances in the Champions League this season (1.74 per 90) which is a record that has returned five goals for the 17 year old. Yamal has shown that his teammates will look to him on almost every occasion, at one point he had four Inter players trying to mark him and still managed to find space to create an opportunity.

Barcelona are a relentless attacking side, they may be light in the backline but going forward they are incredibly difficult to contain, even for a side like Inter. Barcelona had nine shots on target in the first leg and are averaging 6.8 shots on target per game in the Champions League this season.

Thuram was fouled three times in the first leg meeting between the sides, adding to the seven fouls he won across the two legs in Inter’s quarter final matchup with Bayern Munich. 

Inter are one of the few top sides in Europe that play with two strikers. As a result, Thuram and Martinez often do an excellent job of occupying the opposing centre backs and drawing fouls as a result of their holdup play when they look to get Inter up the pitch and offer some relief from Barcelona’s aggressive attacking style. 

Thuram is averaging 2.55 fouls won per 90 in the Champions League this season. We can expect him to engage in multiple duels with Cubarsi and Martinez, as he did in the first leg, which should result in the Frenchman winning a few fouls in the second leg of this Champions League semi final tie.

Sommer was crucial in keeping Inter in the tie with his excellent performance in the first leg. He was forced into making seven saves as Barcelona registered nine shots on target and will have been disappointed not to take a lead into this second leg given how dominant Inter have been at home this season.

Sommer is having to make 3.42 saves per game in the Champions League this season which is a record that suggests that he is being called into action fairly frequently and is quite reliable between the sticks for Simeone Inzaghi’s side - his save percentage in the Champions League this season further demonstrates this (83.7%). 

Barcelona are averaging 6.8 shots on target per game in the Champions League this season which is a record that should be enough to call Sommer into action on at least three occasions. Barcelona’s performance in the first leg suggests that they will be able to find ways to hurt this Inter side, the question will be whether they have the defensive discipline to keep them out at the other end.

Inter’s record at home in the Champions League this season is quite remarkable. They have avoided defeat in all six of their home matches in the Champions League this season, which has included games against Bayern Munich and Arsenal.

Their record across the Champions League as a whole is also quite remarkable. Only Bayer Leverkusen have beaten them in Europe this season, and that required a 90th-minute winner. Inter have only been trailing for 10 minutes and 53 seconds in the Champions League this season, they don’t often fall behind in games.

Inter managed to withstand the Barcelona onslaught in the second half of the first leg to come away with a draw, which they feel tilts the odds in their favour even if Barcelona are still priced as favourites to come through this tie. Barcelona’s backline has been called into question quite a few times this season,n and this may be just one test too far with Inter showing that they can expose Hansi Flick’s side even if they are unable to keep them out.

Dumfries was the key man in the first leg, Barcelona had no answer for his pace and power which allowed him to constantly gain access down the right hand side and also offer a threat from set pieces reflecting a strength present throughout the Inter side which may just be missing in this Barcelona side.

Dumfries is averaging 0.91 shots on target per 90 in Serie A this season. His numbers in Europe aren’t as standout with only three shots on target in the Champions League this season but his performance in the first leg suggests that he will continue to be an attacking threat here and level out more with his domestic numbers than his numbers in Europe this season.

Cubarsi was the only Barcelona player to pick up a yellow card in the first leg which reflects what should be a key battle here between the young centre back and Marcus Thuram. 

Cubarsi committed two fouls in the first leg meeting, he was forced into making these fouls due to the high line that Barcelona play meaning that he was pushed right up against Thuram and Martinez who are quite strong when it comes to hold up play and winning duels to create attacks for their side. Thuram was hauled down on three occasions in the game, one of these incidents resulted in a yellow card for Cubarsi.

Cubarsi has picked up three cards in the Champions League this season and is averaging 1.13 fouls committed per 90 across his 12 appearances in the competition. The front two of Thuram and Martinez pose a unique threat for the 18 year old who may just be caught out on a few occasions by Inter’s intelligent striking partnership.

Inter are the only side left in the competition to have experience of going deep in the Champions League recently. They’ve kept the same core and manager from that 2023 run to the final and have an experience which is rare across the top sides in Europe.

Inter’s spine is quite clear and defined which makes them a tough team to beat, an invaluable trait in a knockout competition like the Champions League where it is not always the best team that wins the tournament. Their defensive structure and experience could prove to be the difference against a Barcelona side that are supremely talented but still quite young and defensively vulnerable.

Barcelona cracked a little in the second leg of their quarter final tie against Dortmund and Inter may just force those cracks wide open with their ability to be clinical and tough to shift on familiar territory.