Simone Inzaghi on stopping Barcelona and Lautaro Martinez

Inter manager Simeone Inzaghi has declared that it is almost impossible to stop Barcelona star Lamine Yamal, following his remarkable performance in the first leg. He was full of praise for the 17-year-old last week, and star defender Alessandro Bastoni joined him in that regard ahead of the second leg.

Bastoni, who had come up against him previously during the group stages of Euro 2024, called him one of the best he had faced.

“I think so. I had faced him at the Euros against Spain, and he wasn’t at this level yet. I was impressed by how much he has improved,” the Italian told TMW, via Football Italia.

“I’ve played against many top players, and in terms of age and ability to create something, he’s one of the best, if not the very best.”

How will Inter try to stop Lamine Yamal?

Inzaghi explained that their strategy went more through preventing the service to him than a set plan for once Lamine Yamal has the ball.

“It’s difficult, we’ll try to prevent him from getting the ball, although it’s almost impossible in modern football. He’ll be marked closely, he’ll get doubled up on, and we’ll try to be careful,” said Inzaghi.

“As I said after the first leg, seeing him live, he’s an extraordinary talent. His incredibly dangerous at his age. They give him the ball in tough moments, and I was impressed by his speed of thought. When he gets the ball, he already knows what he’s going to do next.

Lautaro Martinez fitness – will he be back?

For Barcelona, Hansi Flick confirmed that Robert Lewandowski would start on the bench, after Inzaghi had referred to him as one of the best three or four strikers in the world. Meanwhile the big question marks for Inter are over the fitness of captain Lautaro Martinez and Benjamin Pavard.

“Lauti is a physical and moral leader; we know his importance. These matches always bring tension, but everyone dreams of playing these games. I’m trying to enjoy it,” Bastoni remarked on the importance of Martinez.

Inzaghi noted that the decision on his fitness would come on Tuesday. He took part in the group training session after the press conference.

“It depends on how he feels. A player who can’t start the game is unlikely to help much in the final minutes. His sensations will tell us everything. Unfortunately, we’ve had many setbacks this season, but we know we have a well-equipped squad. We’ll have a light training session tomorrow, and that’s when I’ll make my decisions, always trying to do what’s best for Inter, as I’ve always done over the years.”

How to stop Barcelona going forward

The Italian side managed to hurt Barcelona with relatively little opportunity to go forward at Montjuic, but Inter are laser-focused on stopping the Blaugrana going forward themselves. Bastoni said they were prepared in the first leg too.

“We had watched many videos, but playing against them is entirely different. We’ll learn from the first leg; we made several bad passes that could have led to goal-scoring opportunities.”

“Barcelona have 81% possession in the league and 76% in the Champions League,” Inzaghi noted pointedly.

Flick: “Lamine is a genius. What he does with the ball is incredible, especially at his age. Last Wednesday’s game was incredible to watch, but now we’re in the second leg and we need everyone.”

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“We know their quality and that they take risks in defence, but it’s a well-calculated risk from an excellent coach like Flick, whom I greatly respect. They are the most prolific team in the world and are competing for two more titles after winning two already.”

Like Flick, Inzaghi was coy on potential changes to the team. The fitness of Martinez and centre-back Benjamin Pavard are likely to dictate any personnel alterations.

“We’ll see whether to make tactical changes. The system is well-tested, and this time we play at home. Barcelona’s stats don’t change much whether they play at home or away. We played a great game in Montjuic, even if there were moments where we could have done better. When you win, it’s even easier to analyse and improve.”

If Martinez does not make it, Mehdi Taremi is the favourite to replace the Argentina international up front, as happened in the first leg. Meanwhile Yann Aurel Bisseck did a reasonably good job of replacing Pavard in the first leg on the right side of defence. There has been some suggestion that Federico Dimarco could lose his spot to Carlos Augusto too, after struggling on the left against Lamine Yamal.