No Messi, no problem for
BARCELONA: His arm in a sling and a wide grin across his face, Lionel Messi was able to enjoy Barcelona’s beautiful play from the stands for once.
Messi cheered and lifted his good left arm in victory after his teammates showed more than enough class to convincingly beat Inter Milan 2-0 even without its best player. Rafinha, who filled in for Messi in the starting XI, and Jordi Alba provided the goals that gave the Spanish team control of their group with nine points after a third win in as many matches.
“We all had to step up given that everyone, my players, our fans, our adversaries, we all had Messi’s absence on our minds,” Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde said. “We always play as a team, and we have a recognisable playing style, but Messi gives us that touch of brilliance. We hope he recovers quickly. I think everyone at the stadium missed him.”
Before kickoff, Barcelona fans chanted “Messi! Messi!” when images of the Argentina forward appeared on stadium screens, his right arm in a sling after fracturing it in a win over Sevilla at the weekend. Determined to show Barcelona could cope without him, Messi’s teammates dominated Inter with their passing attack and quickly pressured to recover the ball.
But nobody had more to prove to both Barcelona — and Inter— than Rafinha, who was loaned out to the Italian side for the second half of the last season. He had only played 111 minutes this season before getting the start on Wednesday. Rafinha constantly harassed Inter’s players when they had possession, and he stole the ball from Matias Vecino to spark the move that led to his first goal in 18 Champions League appearances.
After winning the ball near midfield, Rafinha surged forward, passing wide to Luis Suarez on the right flank, who floated in a perfectly timed cross and the hard-charging Rafinha drove the ball past Samir Handanovic in the 32nd minute. Barcelona was Brazilain midfielder Arthur Melo’s
(right) performance. The 22-year-old, a summer signing from Gremio in
Brazil, began to dictate the pace from deep and helped
Barcelona control possession.
His ability to turn and glide past defenders with ease alongside his clever distribution to open up spaces in the middle, bared an uncanny resemblance to former midfield great Xavi, spotlighting a bright future.