Barcelona beat Inter Milan 2-0 at Camp Nou on Wednesday night to all but book their place in the last 16 of the Champions League with a few games to spare.
The Spanish champions took a deserved lead a little over half an hour in through Rafinha's close-range volley against his former club.
Jordi Alba then popped up with a late second to kill off the match, leaving Barca with nine points from nine ahead of their trip to Italy next month.
Relive how the 90 minutes of action unfolded with Sports Mole's live text coverage below.
Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the Champions League tie between Barcelona and Inter Milan at Camp Nou. These giants of the European stage have won their opening two Group B matches, meaning that the winner of tonight's clash in Catalonia can all but book their place in the last 16 of the competition with time to spare.
It is not quite as straightforward as that, of course, with PSV Eindhoven and Tottenham Hotspur being given the chance to put their first points on the board in this evening's early kickoff, but victory for Barca tonight - or indeed visitors Inter - would effectively eat up one of the two qualifying spots in this group of death. The hosts head into the match as favourites, having netted eights goals across their first two Euro outings.
BARCELONA TEAM NEWS!
STARTING XI: Ter Stegen; Roberto, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Busquets, Rakitic, Arthur; Rafinha, Coutinho, Suarez
SUBS: Cillessen, Semedo, Dembele, Malcom, El Haddadi, Vidal, Chumi
Starting with a look at the home team, Ernesto Valverde has decided to go with Rafinha - and not Ousmane Dembele - in his forward line in the absence of Lionel Messi. Barca have known for a few days now that they will be without their star man until the tail end of next month, meaning that other players will have to step up in his absence - good luck with that! Philippe Coutinho and Luis Suarez also start in the front three.
Rafinha may have been given the nod due to his extensive knowledge of Inter, who he spent the second half of last season on loan with, netting two goals in 17 appearances. The Brazilian midfielder admitted that he was interested in turning that loan into a permanent move this summer, but nothing came of it and here he is starting for Barca against his former side. This will be just his fifth outing of the season, totalling 66 minutes up to this point.
Sergio Roberto has been recalled to the side at right-back in place of Nelson Semedo, meanwhile, having started last weekend's 4-2 win against Sevilla on the bench. Barca are otherwise as they were from that most recent outing, as Clement Lenglet and Gerard Pique continue to link up in the heart of defence, while Arthur Melo, Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic are the preferred trio in the centre of the pitch.
INTER MILAN TEAM NEWS!
STARTING XI: Handanovic; D'Ambrosio, Skriniar, Miranda, Asamoah; Brozovic, Vecino; Candreva, Valero, Perisic; Icardi
SUBS: Padelli, Vrsaljko, De Vrij, Martinez, Keita Balde, Ranocchia, Politano
The big news as far as the visitors are concerned is that Marcelo Brozovic and Ivan Perisic have been passed fit for this trip to Camp Nou. Brozovic came through the full 90 minutes of last weekend's 1-0 win against AC Milan, despite carrying a thigh injury, while Croatian compatriot Perisic injured the same part of his body and had to be replaced in that dramatic late victory.
Luciano Spalletti has made a couple of big calls from that win against arch-rivals AC Milan by bringing in Antonio Candreva and Miranda for Matteo Politano and Stefan De Vrij respectively in the only two changes. Politano has been one of Inter's better players this season and looked certain to start tonight, but Spalletti has instead gone with the more experienced option of Candreva.
The return of Miranda is less surprising, as Spalletti had already outlined his intention to bring the centre-back into the fold tonight, but many expected Milan Skriniar to be the player to make way, not De Vrij. Miranda spent four years in Spain with Atletico Madrid, scoring a couple of own goals during his 12 appearances against tonight's opponents. Radja Nainggolan is the big-name absentee from the Nerazzurri's midfield because of an ankle injury.
Rafinha is the surprise name in Barcelona's starting lineup this evening, tasked with replacing the void left by Lionel Messi following the news that the Argentinian superstar is to miss around three weeks of action with a fractured arm. Sergio Roberto is also recalled at right-back, as expected, while Inter Milan have Marcelo Brozovic and Ivan Perisic in their starting lineup after recovering from knocks.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS! Despite boasting a rich history in European competition, these two sides have only met on six previous occasions, with each of those coming in the Champions League over the past 15 years. Barcelona took four points in the 2002-03 group stage and likewise in 2009-10, but they came out second best later that season when Inter Milan progressed through from their semi-final tie.
Inter's semi-final win over Barcelona eight years ago, en route to lifting the famous trophy under the watch of Jose Mourinho, has to go down as one of the Champions League's most memorable ever results. Barcelona did actually win the second leg on the night, though, leaving them with a perfect home record of played three and won three against Inter at Camp Nou, scoring six and conceding none in that time.
Barcelona beat PSV Eindhoven 4-0 here in their opening match before overcoming Tottenham Hotspur 4-2 at Wembley Stadium a few weeks ago. Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick in the first of those wins to get the ball rolling, while Ousmane Dembele - still yet to really win the respect of boss Ernesto Valverde - was also on the scoresheet. The match in London was a lot tighter on the whole, with Messi once again proving the difference between the sides.
Barca will of course be without Messi for the foreseeable future because of that arm injury sustained against Sevilla, ruling him out of this double-header with Inter over the next fortnight, as well as Copa del Rey and La Liga games, most notable next weekend's huge El Clasico showdown with Real Madrid. It will be the first time since 2007 that the world's most famous fixture will be contested without Cristiano Ronaldo or Messi present.
The reigning Spanish champions are four points better off than Real ahead of that match, but just two points separate the leaders and Espanyol, Alaves, Sevilla and Atletico Madrid, so dropped points in that one will see the pressure grow on Valverde. Right now all the focus is on securing a place in the last 16 of the Champions League, though, and Barca can take a huge stride towards achieving that by adding three more points to their tally tonight.
DID YOU KNOW? Only a defeat tonight would derail Barca's European campaign, and losing such matches here is not something that they tend to do. In fact, it has been 27 matches since they last failed to pick up at least a draw in a home Champions League match - a sequence stretching back to September 2013. Going further back, the Spanish champions have won each of their home group matches across the last five editions of the competition.
You simply do not get any better than that - a perfect home record over the past five campaigns in terms of home group-stage matches in this competition. The 4-0 win over PSV last month was pretty straightforward for Valverde's men in the end, and you would fancy them to come out on top in Group B, having finishing at the summit in each of the last 11 years. In each of those seasons they have gone on to reach at least the quarter-finals.
And that, quite simply, is why so many teams fear visiting this ground. Despite all this, though, the Catalans have failed to make it beyond the last eight since lifting the trophy in 2015, crashing out to Juventus, Atletico Madrid and Roma since then. The loss at the hands of Roma earlier this year was the most memorable of all, having taken a 4-1 lead into the second leg at the Stadio Olimpico, only to blow it on a crazy night.
Valverde's men recently went four matches without picking up a win in La Liga - a run that ended with a well-earned 4-2 victory over Sevilla last weekend. Barca dropped points at home to Girona and Athletic Bilbao, as well as failing to overcome Leganes and Valencia on their travels, so hope is not all lost for Inter Milan. Despite their recent loss of domestic form, the defending champions are still top of the La Liga pile after nine matches.
Barcelona have won the La Liga title in three of the last four seasons, on top of achieving a clean sweep of Copa del Rey honours in that time, but they have failed to advance beyond the quarter-finals of the Champions League since going all the way in 2015. That is something that Ernesto Valverde will be desperate to change this time around, and the early signs are certainly positive thanks to wins over PSV Eindhoven and Tottenham Hotspur.
Like their opponents, Inter have also started their Champions League campaign in style through those 2-1 wins over Tottenham and PSV. The Italian side have done things the hard way, it is fair to say, requiring goals from Mauro Icardi and Matias Vecino in the final five minutes to recover against Spurs, which they followed up with another comeback win at the Philips Stadium earlier this month.
Nainggolan, who is ruled out of tonight's match with an ankle injury, and star man Icardi - who has previously spent time in Barca's ranks - netted either side of half time away to PSV to make it a 100% start for Luciano Spalletti and his men. Late goals tend to come naturally to the Nerazzurri, in fact, having found a way through in added time on Sunday evening to edge out AC Milan 1-0 at San Siro.
That late Icardi goal against their great rivals made it seven wins in a row for Inter who, while not being the force of old, are looking a lot more stable than in recent years. Going further back, it is just one defeat in 10 outings in all competitions - coming at the hands of newly-promoted Parma - since the end of August. The Nerazzurri are tough to beat and are well on course to reaching the knockout stages of the Champions League.
As well as challenging for domestic honours in Italy, Inter will be desperate to leave their mark on the continent by calling on the spirit of 2009-10 when they went all the way in the Champions League. Nobody is expecting a repeat of their heroics under Jose Mourinho, of course, but after making a perfect start to their first campaign in UEFA's premier competition since 2011-12, who knows what the future will hold.
Their win in the Netherlands last month was Inter's first on their travels in Europe in eight attempts, putting them six points in front of PSV and Spurs in what is expected to be a race for second place. Inter have progressed out of the group stage in each of their last eight involvements in the competition, and they are of course the last Italian side to have lifted the trophy, despite Juventus's best efforts to change that.
Inter lost 1-0 here on their last visit to Spain in April 2010, although that was one of the best losses in their history as they still made it through to the final of the Champions League, where they beat Bayern Munich 2-0 at the Bernabeu. Overall the Nerazzurri's record on Spanish soil is not at all impressive, losing on 13 of their 18 trips. Their last win in this part of the world came against Valencia in October 2004, winning 5-1 that night for their record away win in Europe.
Inter do not boast the best of records on Spanish soil, then, whereas Barcelona tend to fare well against Italian sides in Europe, winning 16 and losing just two of their 24 such meetings. The Catalans are unbeaten in their last 13 games against sides from Serie A since going down 2-1 to Juventus in the second leg of their 2002-03 quarter-final tie, winning 10 of those. The omens do not look good for tonight's visitors!
RESULT! There is time to bring you the full-time score from the other Group B match taking place in Eindhoven this evening, where PSV have scored late to claim a 2-2 draw against Tottenham. That result could well kill off both sides' hopes of reaching the last 16, as Barca and Inter are now five points better off with this game in hand to play. Read more on that dramatic clash at the Philips Stadion right here.
With kickoff at Camp Nou now just a couple of minutes away, let us check out some pre-match thoughts from both camps.
Ernesto Valverde: "We have to find a way to play without [Messi]. We will certainly miss him, but we hope we miss him while winning. You guys aren't the only ones trying to find out how we will try to replace Leo. The coaches from the other teams are as well and I'm not going to give away what we are going to do. We can't have all the weight of Leo Messi on one player, we must do it all together. Messi is one of a kind but I think we have the players to step up and fill the vacuum. He's the best player, what do you want me to say? We depend on him, like we depend on others, but he is the best. The doctors say about three weeks and sometimes people talk about getting back sooner. I'd love to say it will be magic and next week he'll be back but I don't think that is the case."
Luciano Spalletti: "Whenever you are facing Barcelona and the talent they have all over the field, one of the best teams in the world, inevitably they are going to be the favourites at Camp Nou. We must have great self-belief that doesn't tip over into arrogance, because we are going through a strong period of form. We've got to repeat what we did in the last few games and maintain humility, relying on all our love for this sport. Even if his replacements will want to show all they can do, Messi remains a different player to the rest. When you think you've seen it all, he invents something different. The problem for us won't be how to mark one player or another, but how we can use the ball better. It's difficult to say what Valverde will do in Messi's absence, but I expect a 4-3-3."
KICKOFF: Inter Milan get us up and running at Camp Nou in this battle between Group B's two perfect sides. This is a free hit of sorts for the visitors, as Spurs and PSV remain five points adrift of them in second place after playing a game more.
I was just about to say that Barca have quickly settled into the game, but Ivan Rakitic played a dreadful cross-field pass right out of play when under no pressure. Inter appear happy to sit back and soak up the pressure, before countering.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen did not look all that convincing when getting rid of the ball, presenting Ivan Perisic with a chance to get an early shot away. The dipping effort from range failed to find the target, though, and Ter Stegen was happy to watch it sail wide.
It has been a pretty slow start to the match at Camp Nou. Just the one shot of any note so far - Ivan Perisic sending a half-volley a fair way wide of goal from range following a poor clearance from Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Inter's gameplan is clear to see from the off, as they are sitting back and looking to play on the counter through their talented forward players. The visitors have forayed forward and win themselves a corner, which is cleared away.
Barca are struggling for inspiration early on here in the absence of skipper Lionel Messi. The home side have just won themselves a corner, but Inter deal with both crosses into the middle. Controlled play from Barca, but not penetrative enough.
Inter are doing well to restrict their opponents to minimal opportunities. Barca have barely had their foot on the ball in the final third of the field, and when they do they have struggled to get a shot away at the end of the move.
SHOT! Barcelona's first shot comes via the boot of Philippe Coutinho, who attempts a trademark curler with his right boot. The shot from 20 yards had too much bend on it, though, and Samir Handanovic did not have to make the save.
CHANCE! Ivan Perisic gets a cross in from the left and it was so nearly pounced on by Mauro Icardi near the front post. Marc-Andre ter Stegen got a touch to the ball before the prolific striker and it ricocheted over the crossbar.
CHANCE! Ivan Perisic gets a cross in from the left and it was so nearly pounced on by Mauro Icardi near the front post. Marc-Andre ter Stegen got a touch to the ball before the prolific striker and it ricocheted over the crossbar.
SAVE! Barcelona's best opening of the match so far as Clement Lenglet climbs highest to meet the corner and power a header goalwards. The attempt was a little too central, though, giving Samir Handanovic a chance to keep it out with his thigh.
There has been very little between the two sides in the opening quarter of the match, with Barca arguably just about edging things. Just the one real attempt for them so far, however, with Clement Lenglet very nearly opening the scoring a couple of minutes ago.
SAVE! Rafinha finally gets involved in the match, dragging a shot towards the bottom corner for Samir Handanovic to keep out in a routine manner. Good build-up play from the home side, with Luis Suarez laying it off for his teammate with a deft touch.
Barcelona are definitely growing more and more into the match, with their attacking talents beginning to click into gear. Inter are still happy to sit deep and soak up the pressure, but they are not looking as comfortable as they did for the first 20 minutes.
Mauro Icardi carried the ball into the Barca box and went to ground, but he appeared to lose his footing, rather than being wiped out by Clement Lenglet. It was a good header from Matias Vecino to set the striker away.
Nearly half an hour played at Camp Nou and we are still awaiting the game's first goal. Barca have been the better side on the whole, with Rafinha's first-time finish being held by Samir Handanovic following an impressive team move.
Spalletti will no doubt be pleased with the manner of his side's display, having kept out Barca and put together the odd attack. Barcelona have had a couple of presentable opportunities, though, and they do look as though they will find a breakthrough sooner rather than later.
The hosts win another corner kick, which Clement Lenglet again tried to get on the end of. The referee blew for an infringement, though, and the Nerazzurri can breathe again. The visitors just holding on a little at the moment.
GOAL! BARCELONA 1-0 INTER MILAN (RAFINHA)
This goal has been coming on the basis of the last 10 minutes. Ernesto Valverde's decision to start Rafinha is justified as the attacking midfielder volleys the ball past Samir Handanovic from six yards after being picked out by a sublime Luis Suarez cross.
That really was a special pass from Luis Suarez, getting the ball in flat enough for Rafinha to meet with a first-time finish without breaking stride. Inter will now have to alter their gameplan slightly, having been second best so far.
That goal lifts Barcelona up to nine points, three more than Inter and eight more than PSV and Spurs. It will be a formality, you'd imagine, if they can see through the remaining 50 minutes or so of this match.
SHOT! A bullet of a drive from Matias Vecino, who certainly knows how to find the back of the net, ends narrowly over the crossbar. That is as good as the visitors have offered since falling behind to Rafinha's well-taken strike.
Play stops for a couple of minutes for Luis Suarez to receive some treatment after being caught on the foot by Milan Skriniar. Barca are the side asking more of the questions in an attacking sense, but they have just the one goal to show for their efforts.
The first half is petering out at the moment; the tempo has dropped quite considerably over the past few minutes. Valverde will be the happier of the two managers, having seen his side make the breakthrough just over half an hour in.
HALF TIME: BARCELONA 1-0 INTER MILAN
Philippe Coutinho tries to catch out Samir Handanovic with his powerful free kick, which hits Miranda and goes behind for a corner kick. That will be the last action of a first half edged by Barcelona, who lead through Rafinha's close-range finish.
There was little between the sides in a quiet opening quarter to the match, with Ivan Perisic - declared fit despite limping off with a thigh injury last weekend - and Philippe Coutinho exchanging wayward shots. Barca began to take control of the contest, however, coming close through Clement Lenglet's header and Rafinha's dragged shot, both of which Samir Handanovic was equal to.
Handanovic had little chance of keeping out Rafinha's casual side-foot finish from Barca's next real chance, though, as the ex-Inter loanee justified his manager's decision to start him by converting Luis Suarez's right-sided cross. Matias Vecino's bullet strike from range was all Inter could muster in response as the first half petered out.
Inter did not do enough to warrant a goal in that first half, although at 0-0 they were well positioned to hit their opponents on the counter. This contest is far from over at the midway stage, but Luciano Spalletti's men must improve if they are to rescue a point.
BENCH WATCH!
BARCELONA SUBS: Cillessen, Semedo, Dembele, Malcom, El Haddadi, Vidal, Chumi
INTER MILAN SUBS: Padelli, Vrsaljko, De Vrij, Martinez, Keita Balde, Ranocchia, Politano
KICKOFF: We are back under way at Camp Nou, where there is news of a half-time change. Antonio Candreva has been replaced out on the right by Matteo Politano, who was surprisingly left out of Inter Milan's starting lineup this evening.
Inter have far more urgency about them in the early stages of this second half. I was surprised just how little they offered in an attacking sense in the final 10 minutes of the first period after falling a goal down.
Valero is caught in the face by the elbow of Gerard Pique. There was plenty of contact made, but the question is whether the Spanish centre-back meant it - only he will know. The referee decides to let play resume without talking to Pique.
SAVE! Matteo Politano whips in a left-sided cross from the right that bounced awkwardly in front of goal and had to be dealt with by Marc-Andre ter Stegen. That has to go down as a big save from the German to keep his side in front.
CHANCE! Inter have already done more in the opening 10 minutes of this second half than the whole of the first, and that is entirely down to the introduction of Matteo Politano. Arthur gave the ball away and Politano had a free shot from goal 18 yards out, which he blazed over the bar.
Valverde may be weighing up his options from the bench because his side have struggled to get going in this second half. Inter look good value for a leveller and it is they who have been by far the better team since the restart.
Valero clatters into Arthur but somehow escapes a booking from the lenient referee - still no cautions this evening. Nelson Semedo has been sent to warm-up as Sergi Roberto appears to have picked up a knock.
SAVE! This is better from Barcelona. Luis Suarez has been on a one-man mission to make a second-half breakthrough for his side, and his latest run ends with a powerful shot very nearly catching out Samir Handanovic, who got enough contact to the ball to help it over the bar.
SAVE! Brilliant save from Samir Handanovic to keep his side in the game. The ball is cleared into the path of Clement Lenglet right in front of goal by Asamoah, but he cannot squeeze it past a fast-thinking Handanovic.
YELLOW CARD! Luis Suarez sees yellow for the 40th time in his Barcelona career, with this latest caution coming for his challenge on Miranda. Inter make their second change of the match, bringing on Lautaro Martinez for Borja Valero.
A little under 25 minutes to go at Camp Nou and it is fair to say that this game is delicately poised. Barca are in front on the night and are currently the side on top, but Inter have also had openings and will fancy their chances of nicking a goal.
Luis Suarez takes on the free kick 20 yards from goal, which he attempts to stick under the wall. Marcelo Brozovic was laying on the floor behind the wall, and that paid off as the Croatian midfielder blocked the ball.
Inter have tested Marc-Andre ter Stegen just once this evening, coming via that Matteo Politano cross that turned into a shot. Mauro Icardi is struggling to get involved in the match, but Spalletti will not consider taking him off.
OFF THE BAR! Samir Handanovic was only able to parry Luis Suarez's downward header into the path of Philippe Coutinho, who thumped the loss ball against the frame of the goal. Goalscorer, and possible matchwinner, Rafinha is replaced by Nelson Semedo.
YELLOW CARD! Barcelona are going through the motions, knowing that they are now just 15 minutes away from another vital win. Marcelo Brozovic is cautioned for a sliding challenge on Philippe Coutinho, and seconds later Milan Skriniar is also booked for barging into Luis Suarez.
BARCELONA SUB! Sergio Roberto takes Nelson Semedo's spot on the right wing in a reshuffle from Valverde. Arturo Vidal has now been brought on for the impressive Arthur in a like-for-like change in the middle of the field.
INTER MILAN SUBS! That Barcelona substitution led to plenty of jeers around Camp Nou - interesting! Inter have also made another change, with Balde Keita taking over from the not-fully-fit Ivan Perisic in attack.
SHOT! Keita Balde has not taken long to make his mark on the game, getting a shot away for Marc-Andre ter Stegen to make a rare stop. Lautaro Martinez then got to the ball before his man, but could only flick it wide of the target.
We are now into the final eight minutes in Catalonia and Barcelona, though not over the like just yet, are looking good value to make it nine points from nine in Group B. Inter will be happy with their performance, but they have not created enough in front of goal.
Ivan Rakitic, who scored a stunning goal at Wembley Stadium earlier this month, bends a shot wide of the far post. Barca would love a second goal to make sure of the victory, but they are being made to work hard to find it.
GOAL! BARCELONA 2-0 INTER MILAN (JORDI ALBA)
That should do it! A brilliant team goal from Barcelona surely puts the game out of Inter's reach, with Jordi Alba rounding it off on his 50th Champions League outing for the home side. Ivan Rakitic slid the ball through and Alba tucked it under Samir Handanovic.
BARCELONA SUB! Barcelona make their third and final change, bringing on Munir El Haddadi for Philippe Coutinho for these final few minutes. A tough evening for the home side, but they are home and dry now.
SAVE! Inter are not giving up just yet, as Martinez gets a shot away from 22 yards. It was a weak attempt and Ter Stegen had a routine stop to make - the Inter attacker should have picked out a teammate. Up the other end, Suarez drills a shot at Handanovic.
We have played the first of three added-on minutes at Camp Nou, where Barcelona are on the brink of another big win. This victory will take them to nine points from nine at the top of Group B, three in front of opponents Inter and eight in front of PSV and Spurs.
FULL TIME: BARCELONA 2-0 INTER MILAN
Barcelona pick up their third Champions League win on the spin, courtesy of goals in either half from former Inter Milan ace Rafinha and full-back Jordi Alba. It was far from a straightforward evening for the Spanish champions, as the visitors had a couple of chances to score over the 90 minutes, but as it is they are now effectively in the hat for the last 16.
That concludes Sports Mole's live text coverage of events from Camp Nou. An on-the-whistle report can be found by clicking here, and be sure to join us tomorrow night as we bring you updates from the Europa League games involving Arsenal and Chelsea. See you then!
