Inter vs. Barcelona, the history: the perfect performance, and that equaliser at the death

MILAN - There is one day to go until the big match between Inter and Barcelona, the third game in Group C of the Champions League. There have been 14 matches in European competition between the Nerazzurri and the Blaugrana, who find themselves drawn in the same Champions League group for the third time in the last five seasons.

The head-to-head favours the Catalans. In the top European competition, Inter only beat Barça in 2010, 3-1 at San Siro in what was one of the most memorable matches in the Nerazzurri's history. In total there have been 10 meetings in the Champions League, with six Catalan wins and three draws.

As for the games played at San Siro, the history is perfectly balanced. Three draws, one Nerazzurri victory and one for the Blaugrana.

THE FIRST TWO HOME MATCHES

26 February 2003: that was the date of the first Champions League match between the two sides played at San Siro. The Group A game ended 0-0. The Nerazzurri went on to the quarter-finals after going through as runners-up. The exact same result occurred six years later. It was 16 September 2009, and in Mourinho's team's first outing in that Champions League season, they faced Barca. Both sides went on to face one another in the historic semi-final.

THE PERFECT PERFORMANCE

20 April 2010. A date every Inter fan will never forget. The Champions League semi-final first-leg was staged at San Siro. Mourinho's Inter had one of the best games in Inter history, overturning the deficit and putting one foot in the final.

It was Barcelona who took the lead with Pedro's goal. But it was a memorable evening, where the team was at one with the Nerazzurri fans. In the 30th minute Sneijder scored the equaliser. In the second half Maicon and Milito put the team in front to make it 3-1. The rest, as they say, is history.

THE LATE EQUALISER

On 6 November 2018, eight years later, Inter and Barcelona played again. It was the fourth game of Group B. The match seemed to be heading for a goalless draw, but in the 83rd minute Malcom put the visitors ahead. Three minutes from the end, it was Mauro Icardi who found the equaliser from the right. Later that campaign the Nerazzurri were eliminated in the group stage, despite having racked up the same number of points as Tottenham, who went through as runners-up. It was the goals scored that made the difference, which favoured the English.