Good evening! Thank you very much for joining
Sports Mole for tonight's crucial
Champions League Group F showdown between
Inter Milan and Barcelona at San Siro!
Barca travel to Italy having already secured top spot in the group, but for the hosts it is all to play for tonight as they look to beat Borussia Dortmund to second place. Dortmund will be favourites to beat Slavia Prague in the group's other game, which would mean that only a win will do for Inter if they are to avoid dropping into the Europa League.
It promises to be a fascinating night, then, and with only five minutes until kickoff let's waste no time by looking at the team news...
INTER MILAN STARTING XI: Handanovic; Godin, De Vrij, Skriniar; D'Ambrosio, Vecino, Valero, Brozovic, Biraghi; Lukaku, Martinez
SUBS: Padelli, Politano, Dimarco, Lazaro, Candreva, Bastoni, Esposito
BARCELONA STARTING XI: Neto; Todibo, Lenglet, Umtiti; Wague, Rakitic, Vidal, Firpo; Perez, Griezmann, Alena
SUBS: Ter Stegen, Araujo, Suarez, Morer, De Jong, Fati, Busquets
KICKOFF: It's a touch later than planned, but we are underway at the San Siro! Can Inter take advantage of a severely weakened Barcelona side to progress?
Both sides are struggling to get the ball under control in the opening exchanges here as they look to feel each other out. Barcelona have made seven changes and are in an unfamiliar formation, so it may also take Inter a bit of time to get used to their opponents too.
CHANCE! The first chance for Inter Milan to break forward as Lukaku touches the ball into the path of Valero, who suddenly finds himself with inviting space to burst into. Barcelona are quick to scramble back, but Valero is able to get the ball to D'Ambrosio, who blazes it over the crossbar when he should have done better.
DISALLOWED GOAL! The San Siro erupts as Lukaku slams an effort in after only seven minutes, but the offside flag is raised and the replay proves the official right. It was a thumping finish from Lukaku, but he seemed to know he was offside too.
SAVE! Suddenly Barcelona burst into life as Perez shows good pace to burst beyond the last man and latch on to a through-ball. He gets a hard, low strike away early which almost takes Handanovic by surprise, but he gets down well. The ball is pushed out into a dangerous area but Skriniar mops up before Griezmann can take advantage.
CHANCE! Big chance for Inter at the other end! The hosts pour forward with three on three and it is Lukaku to collects the ball in the box, cutting inside onto his left foot. However, he is thwarted by a fine last-ditch block by Lenglet as Martinez waits for a pass which was never coming.
UPDATE: We will be keeping an eye on all of the other Champions League matches taking place at the moment, and there is already some bad news for Inter Milan as Borussia Dortmund have taken the lead against Slavia Prague, meaning that as things stand Inter are heading out. Elsewhere, RB Leipzig have taken an early lead at Lyon.
A corner is not fully cleared by Barcelona and Vecino eventually takes control of the situation with an ambitious volley on the turn, but it is never troubling Neto's goal and is too far in front of Lukaku for him to get a touch.
Fine challenge from Todibo as he nicks the ball off the toe of Martinez, who has looked sharp so far and tried to turn on the edge of the box after being found by Lukaku.
Most of this match is being played in the Barcelona half at the moment, which is perhaps to be expected given Inter's need for a win and Barcelona's much-changed side. This is a huge chance for the hosts to take advantage of one of the weaker Barcelona side they will come up against.
SAVE! A sweeping Inter Milan counter-attack creates another chance for the hosts as they work it from right to left, with Biraghi ending the move by hammering a powerful effort towards goal. There is plenty of power behind it, but Neto has his angles right and beats it away from danger.
UPDATE: Chelsea are another team whose fate has gone down to the final group game, but they have made a good start with Tammy Abraham giving them the lead against Lille at Stamford Bridge.
Inter win a free kick in a deep position and it is clipped into the area, threatening to bounce all the way through. Vecino is coming in at the back post, but Neto pushes it away before it can reach the midfielder.
GOAL! INTER MILAN 0-1 BARCELONA (CARLES PEREZ)
GOAL! It is Inter Milan who have been on top so far, but Barcelona strike out of nothing to take the lead! Griezmann fires the ball in towards the feet of Vidal inside the area, but the ball comes off the foot of Godin, eliminating any chance of an offside.
Perez still has plenty to do, but he produces a really sharp finish to slide the ball home and stun the San Siro with only his second Barcelona goal.
That is a hammer blow for Inter, who suddenly find themselves needing two goals against Barcelona to save their Champions League campaign. You'd have to back Dortmund to get the win against Slavia Prague, and so only a win will do here for the hosts.
UPDATE: Barcelona are not the only Spanish side winning away at a famous European ground - Valencia have taken the lead against Ajax in Chelsea's group.
SAVE! Vecino tries his luck after Inter win the ball back, letting fly with a snapshot from range. It has to be something special to beat Neto from that range, though, and in the end it is a routine stop for the Barcelona keeper.
SHOT! A dreadful clearance from Valero gives the ball straight to Rakitic on the edge of the box, but the Croatian midfielder cannot take advantage with a curling effort which flies high and wide.
UPDATE: Chelsea have doubled their lead against Lille through Cesar Azpilicueta, while RB Leipzig are also now two goals to the good against Lyon. Not a great night for the French sides so far!
CHANCE! Not a great night for this French player either as Clement Lenglet misses a sitter! The ball drops perfectly for the French defender in the box after Inter failed to clear their lines from a corner, but he drags it horribly wide when he had to score! Defender or not, that is a gilt-edged chance.
SAVE! Superb play from Martinez as he tries to drag his side back into this one. The striker takes the ball down and unleashes a stinging volley from the edge of the box, but Neto is once again there to make the save.
The resulting corner eventually falls for Valero in the box, but Lenglet throws himself in the way of the shot and it bounces back off Valero for a goal kick.
CHANCE! Another sight of goal for Inter, who have picked things back up in the last few minutes. This time Lukaku swings a dangerous cross in towards the near post where D'Ambrosio is attacking, but he can only nod it wide of the target.
Just over five minutes remaining of this half now and Inter know that their Champions League campaign is ticking away with every second. There is still more than enough time to launch a comeback, of course, but scoring twice without conceding against Barcelona is a lot easier said than done.
One goal before half time would really lift this San Siro crowd, but in truth they haven't looked like getting one. They have had a few sights of goal, but nothing Neto would not have expected to save so far.
UPDATE: Big update for Inter Milan as Slavia Prague have equalised in Dortmund! A draw will now do for the hosts!
GOAL! INTER MILAN 1-1 BARCELONA (ROMELU LUKAKU) GOAL! What a minute for Inter! First Slavia Prague equalise and then they do!
I said a goal before half time would give them a lift and it certainly has, with Lukaku firing a deflected drive past Neto after the ball had dropped to him just outside the area. The celebrations are temporarily halted as VAR is checked, but confirmation comes and so does the fist pump from Antonio Conte!
There will be two minutes of added time at the end of this first half.
YELLOW CARD! Borja Valero picks up a yellow card for a heavy sliding challenge, although he did seem to get a good chunk of the ball there.
HALF TIME: INTER MILAN 1-1 BARCELONA
A fascinating first half comes to an end at the San Siro, with Inter Milan and Barcelona all square at the halfway stage of this one.
At the moment that would be enough to see Inter through with Dortmund also drawing against Slavia Prague, but it is still all to play for in the coming 45 minutes.
Barcelona made things look very difficult for the hosts when they took the lead midway through the half, with
Carles Perez producing a sharp finish inside the area to score only his second goal for the club.
Griezmann had fired the ball in towards the feet of Vidal, but Godin got in a foot in to prevent it getting to the Barcelona midfielder. Unfortunately for the former Atletico Madrid, the ball bounced straight to Perez, who swept his finish home.
However, Inter levelled things up right at the end of the half through a deflected
Romelu Lukaku strike which left Neto no chance on his Barcelona debut.
Martinez held the ball up really well before teeing up his strike partner, who fired home via a slight touch to cap a superb minute for the hosts after Slavia equalised against Dortmund moments earlier.
Inter will no doubt still be expecting Dortmund to go on and win their match at home to Slavia Prague and so there is still plenty of work to do, but they will be confident of going on and beating this weakened Barca side in the second half.
The hosts have created sights of goal and look capable of getting another goal in the coming 45 minutes, so they just need to keep it tight at the other end too.
KICKOFF: Barcelona get us back underway for the second half.
UPDATE: There has already been a second-half goal elsewhere, with Benfica taking the lead against Zenit.
YELLOW CARD! Junior Firpo picks up an early yellow card in this second half.
Brilliant from Rakitic as he channels his inner Lionel Messi - or is it Son Heung-min now? - with a slaloming run upfield past three or four defenders. The Barca skipper for the night works space to shoot but sees his effort deflected behind for a corner.
UPDATE: Lyon have pulled a goal back against RB Leipzig, although the German outfit still lead 2-1 in France.
Barcelona come pouring forward on the counter-attack with Firpo released down the left, but as he carries the ball further his options seem to diminish. In the end he puts a rather aimless pass inside which is comfortably cleared away for a throw-in.
Barcelona again launch a counter-attack as this time Wague has the ball down the right, but he is by far the most advanced player and there isn't a single yellow shirt in the box. Griezmann, who is meant to be the central striker, was nowhere to be seen.
SAVE! This is more like it from Griezmann. Perez works the ball out wide to the Frenchman after some good play to dribble inside, and Griezmann gets the ball out of his feet and fires towards goal. It is low and hard, but Handanovic gets down well to save.
UPDATE: News from Dortmund, and it is not good news for Inter Milan! Dortmund have regained their lead against Slavia Prague, which means that Inter once again need to win here.
CHANCE! ...and what a chance to take the lead! Lukaku finds room inside the box to take the ball down and he is left with only the keeper to beat, but Neto makes a brilliant stop from point-blank range!
BARCELONA SUBS: Time for a couple of the big guns as Luis Suarez replaces Griezmann and Frenkie de Jong comes on for Rakitic.
CHANCE! Lukaku has had his chances tonight, and another one goes begging here! Martinez slides the pass through for the Belgian, who gets there before Neto and takes it around the keeper but puts too much on his first touch as it goes all the way behind for a goal kick.
SHOT! Wague tries his luck from range here with not much else on. He catches the shot well, but it flies high and wide of the target.
SHOT! Barcelona will be more threatening with Suarez and De Jong on the field, and they almost get a goal which could prove fatal for Inter here. De Jong and Suarez are both involved as the ball falls to Vidal, who passes his finish a yard or so wide from outside the area.
INTER SUB: Antonio Conte turns to his bench here as Valentino Lazaro replaces Biraghi.
Things could barely be more tense as we head into the final 20 minutes here. Inter Milan need a goal to qualify as things stand, while a goal the other way would surely end their hopes.
CHANCE! It could take a moment of magic for Inter here, and Martinez looks most likely to provide one. He flicks the ball over the head of Lenglet to take him towards goal and then lets fly with a fine effort, but it flies wide of the target.
CHANCE! Inter continue to knock on the door here as Lukaku tries a first-time effort from an ambitious angle, but Neto gets down well to make a solid save.
DISALLOWED GOAL! Martinez thinks that he has done it with a lovely piece of chest control and finish inside the Barcelona box, but the flag is immediately raised and once again it is the correct decision!
INTER MILAN SUB: Another change for the hosts as Matteo Politano replaces D'Ambrosio.
INTER MILAN SUB: ..and a third change for Inter as Sebastiano Esposito replaces Valero.
UPDATE: No more goals yet in Dortmund, but the hosts have been reduced to 10 men, which could be good news for Inter. Remember, this scoreline will be enough if Slavia Prague can grab an equaliser. Elsewhere, Benfica lead 10-man Zenit 3-0 and Chelsea could face a nervous finale after Lille pulled a goal back.
DISALLOWED GOAL! Oh my word, Inter have the ball in the back of the net again, but see it disallowed for a third time for offside! Lukaku is the culprit here, being slow to get back on as the ball bounced towards him. It was Politano's effort which bounced around the area and, while Martinez was the man who stuck it home from close range, Lukaku did get involved in play from an offside position.
CHANCE! This is very open now! Umtiti blocks an effort form Vecino and suddenly Barcelona are in on the defensive line with four players pouring forward. De Jong chooses to give it to Perez, who takes a touch before lashing it off target from a tight angle.
Time is really beginning to run out for Inter here! They may feel things have not going their way tonight with three disallowed goals, but all three have been correct decisions without the need for VAR.
BARCELONA SUB: Change for Barcelona as
Ansu Fati replaces Perez.
GOAL! INTER MILAN 1-2 BARCELONA (ANSU FATI)
GOAL! What an impact from the youngster as Ansu Fati scores his first Champions League goal!
It is a clinical finish from the sub as he fires a low strike into the bottom corner off the post having seen the ball drop invitingly to him. Surely that ends Inter Milan's hopes once and for all?!
All hope is not quite lost for Inter, although it looks unlikely now. They need an equaliser and need Slavia Prague to level things up against 10-man Dortmund in Germany.
YELLOW CARD! De Vrij goes into the book for a mistimed challenge on Suarez.
There will be four minutes of added time at the end of this match.
YELLOW CARD! Esposito picks up a late yellow card for Inter.
SAVE! Martinez picks up the ball and spins before getting a shot away, but his low drive is held by Neto.
FULL TIME: INTER MILAN 1-2 BARCELONA
FULL TIME: INTER MILAN ARE ELIMINATED FROM THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE!
It is all over at San Siro, and it is all over for Inter Milan in the Champions League this season!
Antonio Conte's side lose 2-1 at home to a much-changed Barcelona side to finish third in the group, with only a victory enough to see them through tonight as Dortmund beat Slavia Prague. Lukaku levelled things up after Perez's opener, but the former United man missed some great chances and Inter also had three goals ruled out for offside as they fell short.
Right, that is all we have time for this evening!
Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's contest as Barcelona knock Inter Milan out of the Champions League with victory at San Siro. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.
From me, though, it is goodbye for now.
