17-Year-Old Wonderkid Rescues Victory For Barca
11 December, 2019
UEFA Champions League
Result: Inter Milan 1-2 FC Barcelona
Date: 10 December 2019
Venue: San Siro
17-year-old wonderkid Ansu Fati came off the bench to net the winning goal as FC Barcelona denied Inter Milan a spot in the UEFA Champions League knockout stage.
Barca manager Ernesto Valverde retained only four players from their thumping win over Mallorca, namely; Clement Lenglet, Junior Firpo, Ivan Rakitic and Antoine Griezmann, with talisman Lionel Messi given a rest, as he did not travel with the team.
Meanwhile, Inter boss Antonio Conte made only one change from the side that played to a goalless draw with Roma, as Danilo D'Ambrosio took the place of Antonio Candreva in the starting line-up.
The Italian side thought they scored the opener in the seventh minute after Romelu Lukaku smashed home a strike past goalkeeper Neto after going clear on the left side but the goal was disallowed for offside.
However, Blaugrana broke the deadlock in the 23rd minute after youngster Carles Perez fired home a low shot under shot-stopper Samir Handanovic from Arturo Vidal's cushioned pass.
Conte's charges were showing sense of urgency to get back to the game and after several missed opportunities, Lukaku finally restored parity on the stroke of half-time with a first-time low finish that took a deflection and sailed past Neto.
The sides were cagey in the opening exchanges of the second stanza but Griezmann and Lukaku had two clear-cut chances around the hour-mark kept out by Handanovic and Neto.
With the game gaining momentum, Valverde made a double change, bringing on Luis Suarez in place of Griezmann upfront and Frenkie de Jong replaced Rakitic, both for fresh legs.
Conte was desperate for the winner and he threw caution to the wind with two tactical substitutions with 15 minutes remaining, as winger Matteo Politano took the place of full-back D' Ambrosio and teenage striker Sebastiano Esposito replaced midfielder Borja Valero.
However, Fati secured the win for the Catalan giants barely a minute after coming on for Perez four minutes before time with a low strike across Handanovic that came off the far post.
As a result, the visitors topped Group F ahead of Borussia Dortmund, while Inter finished in the UEFA Europa League spot.
Source: www.soccerladuma.co.za
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