A dogged Inter fell to a late 2-1 defeat to Barcelona at the Camp Nou in the Champions League on Wednesday, as a Luis Suarez brace wiped out Lautaro Martinez’s goal.
The Nerazzurri looked on course for a well-deserved win after a superb defensive performance, having gone ahead with barely three minutes on the clock through Martinez.
However, after Suarez pulled the hosts level midway through the second half with a magnificent volley, the Uruguayan broke Italian hearts by latching on to Lionel Messi’s pass to rifle home the winner with minutes remaining.
The clash between the two European heavyweights sprung into life almost immediately after kick-off, as a loose freekick fell to Stefano Sensi and the midfielder knocked it through for Martinez. The Argentina striker burst through to shrug off Clement Lenglet and slot beyond Marc-Andre Ter Stegen and silence the Camp Nou.
Inter showed great resilience to defend in numbers and frustrate Barcelona, whilst offering the greater threat themselves. Martinez proved himself to be a handful and raced through again, only to see a heavy touch take him too far from goal.
Meanwhile, Nicolo Barella looked to have doubled the lead as he met Alexis Sanchez’s lay-off, only for Lenglet to throw himself in front of a goal-bound effort in the box.
As the second half progressed, the match turned on it’s head as Barcelona saw their first real chance result in an equaliser. Quick passing found the ball at the feet of Arturo Vidal and the former Juventus man clipped a pass across the edge of the penalty area for Suarez to acrobatically rifle in on the volley.
Despite Inter continuing to hold out, the Spanish champions sealed victory with five minutes remaining. As the Nerazzurri committed men forward for a late attack, they were hit on the counterattack to devastating effect.
Messi tore through a tired defence before threading through to Suarez, and the Uruguayan flicked the ball beyond Milan Skriniar and slotted home.
The defeat leaves Inter languishing in third place after two matches in Group F, behind Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona.
