Inter Milan didn’t give anyone time to get excited – neither Barça nor their fans – and sealed qualification for the round of 16 of the Champions League with a comfortable win over Viktoria Plzen (4-0) which led to the elimination of the Catalan team, which still had slight hopes that a miracle would happen. In any case, the fans of the Blaugrana team did not leave aside their team, which will compete in the Europa League like last year, and 84,016 people gathered to witness the inconsequential match against Bayern Munich at the Spotify Camp Nou , which began to be played with the Giusseppe Meazza match already finished and which ended with a local defeat (0-3).
Three hours before the match, there was more crowding around the stadium and on public transport than usual on a match night. The followers were being informed about what was happening in Milan. Cell phone, radio or hanging out in a bar with a TV. Bayern fans were also appearing, little by little. According to Barça, they occupied 4,150 seats in the visiting area. They, more carefree than what was happening in Milan. Being first in the group did not depend on what happened in Milan. They were joined by other protagonists. Xavi Hernández had summoned his squad to watch Inter-Viktoria Plzen together in the dressing room.
But hope was short-lived. When the doors to the Camp Nou opened for the Blaugrana fans to enter, Inter already enjoyed a comfortable two-goal lead (2-0) after Mkhitaryan’s header in the 35th minute and Dzeko at 42. In any case, the stadium, while Queen was playing on the public address system, gradually filled with local fans who, in any case, did not want to miss the duel against Bayern Munich. And the second half gave no reason to believe in the Czech comeback. In fact, Dzeko made it 3-0 in the 66th minute and Romelu Lukaku made it 4-0 in the 87th.
At 8:18 p.m. Ter Stegen came out to warm up at the Spotify Camp Nou and received applause from his fans. A gesture that the German goalkeeper decided to return as thanks. The situation was repeated 10 minutes later when the rest of the players jumped onto the pitch to the beat of Highway to Hell. Especially applauded was Robert Lewandowski.
The Barcelona supporters took the Milan result, not at all unexpected, with resignation. Thus, the only incentive of the match became simply to achieve a moral victory against the great black beast of Barça in Europe during the last years: Bayern Munich. And prevent the wound of elimination from getting even bigger. Which could not be saved either.
Thus, the Spanish fans, who cheered from the beginning to the end of the match, became the best psychologist for Xavi Hernández’s team. Especially after the blows received with the goals of Sadio Mané in the 10th minute and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting in the 31st. Barça, at least, reached the final stretch of the match without receiving whistles in their own stadium, although they did not manage to shoot between the three posts during the 90 minutes and received the final thrust, the 0-3 work of Pavard, in the last gasp.
