Champions League Classic: Barcelona 1, Inter 0 (April 2010)

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JOSE MOURINHO CALLED IT the "most beautiful defeat" of his career.

Mourinho had no shortage of reasons to hate Barcelona. He was dismissed as nothing more than a "translator" to Sir Bobby Robson during their time at the club in 1996 and 1997. Mourinho was mercilessly booed and heckled when he returned to Camp Nou as Chelsea manager in 2005 and again in 2006, and overlooked as Frank Rijkaard's successor in 2008. The job eventually went to Pep Guardiola.

Mourinho joined Inter that year and helped them win the Champions League in 2010. But he faced a mighty test along the way. After earning a 3-1 first-leg advantage in their semifinal against Guardiola's Barcelona, Inter arrived in Spain with one mission: to keep them from scoring two goals.

And they did. Despite conceding late, Inter escaped with a 1-0 loss on the night and a 3-2 win on aggregate, booking their place in the final. The Nerazzurri barely stepped out of their half, completing just 67 passes all game. Barcelona put together 555. Inter mustered 44 clearances and attempted just one shot. Barcelona fired 15 attempts and controlled 76% possession.

It was one-way traffic. But it was fascinating and dramatic. With Inter and Barcelona currently locked in another Champions League semifinal tussle, it's hard not to look back at this classic.

The lineups

A quick run through the pregame formations.

Mourinho can't count on his old guard for this clash. Ivan Cordoba, Marco Materazzi, Dejan Stankovic, and Francesco Toldo all start on the bench. Cristian Chivu is a last-minute replacement for the injured Goran Pandev. Mourinho calls upon the Romanian defender to help captain Javier Zanetti double up on Lionel Messi. Chivu is wearing protective head gear after suffering a head injury the previous January. Not a single Italian player makes Inter's starting lineup.

Tons of storylines dominate the prematch talk. Samuel Eto'o is returning to Barcelona for the first time since joining Inter in a swap deal with Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Gabriel Milito is facing his older brother Diego, who's also Gerard Pique's former teammate. Barcelona midfielder Seydou Keita drops into an unusual center-back role, and Thierry Henry is on the bench.

Six players are a yellow card away from missing the final through suspension.

The match

Reviewing the most important plays, including footnotes with tidbits about the teams and players in action. You can watch the game here.

4' Only one team has come to play. The ball is exclusively in Inter's half. Barcelona have already had a free-kick, corner kick, and a wild shot off target. They're happy to play a high line as Inter struggle to even get the ball to the middle of the pitch.

8' Messi receives the ball with his back to goal near the halfway line and sets off on the first of his trademark runs. Zanetti is shadowing him but can't quite keep up, forcing teammate Esteban Cambiasso to dive in and foul Messi. It's a sign of the onslaught to come.

10' Dani Alves flips a quick pass to Ibrahimovic, who holds off his man and allows the ball to bounce gently off his right boot and back into the path of the Brazilian full-back. Thiago Motta is trailing the play and tries to win possession with a late tackle. It's needless as Samuel is right there to defend it. He gets the first yellow card of the game.

12' Messi grapples with Maicon as the ball goes out of play and the Brazilian falls into the advertising hoarding near the corner flag. He immediately holds his shoulder and uses the injury to his advantage by reentering the field of play and keeping the game from restarting. It's blatant time-wasting with 78 minutes still to play, and it's raining whistles at the Camp Nou.

16' Inter's only meaningful action is to hoof the ball^[1] to Diego Milito, and he finally wins a foul near Barcelona's area. Pique gives Milito a nice shove in the back.

20' Maicon intercepts Messi's cross-field pass and Eto'o picks up the rebound. The two charge up the right side of the field and the Cameroonian plays it back to his teammate. Maicon spots Milito's run across Pique and plays it into space. Milito is surrounded by defenders and attempts a cross into the area. It goes to absolutely no one. There aren't any Inter players around and just three others within the entire TV frame. The rest are back in their bunker.

22' Barcelona are parked in Inter's half. Three players hound Wesley Sneijder and force a giveaway that quickly turns into a chance. Sergio Busquets plays the ball out to Alves, who has tons of time and space to whip in a cross for Pedro at the edge of the area. His snap shot arrows past the post. Barcelona haven't had a better chance than that.

25' Surprisingly, Inter win a corner kick. Thiago Motta's overhead pass triggers Milito's run into the penalty area. The Argentine straddles before laying it off for Sneijder, who spins a ball to a wide-open Eto'o on the right of the box. Some sloppy defending forces the ball over the goal line. It's one of just two corner kicks Inter get all game.

28' The red card comes out. It's a straight red, too. Thiago Motta is in disbelief after putting his hand on Busquets' face^[2]. Mourinho's devilish smile screams of sarcasm. Motta goes up to Busquets and grabs the back of his neck. He gets right in Busquets' ear as he gets medical attention. He's not letting this one go. The assistant referee ushers Motta away. Mourinho applauds the crowd. The ultimate gamesman is in his element. But Inter are up against it now.

33' Messi forces an excellent diving save from Julio Cesar after making a wonderful run from right to left. He picks up Yaya Toure's pass in flight and avoids Zanetti's lunging tackle before firing a bending shot from the top of the half circle.

39' It's pass after pass after pass in Inter's third. Eto'o is now playing at left-back to give Inter more cover. But he falls asleep here as Alves runs to meet Xavi's ball from over the top. Alves pushes it to Ibrahimovic, but Samuel is there to block the Swede's shot. Eto'o collects the rebound and clears the ball to no one. Inter have made about three touches in Barcelona's half since Motta went off. It's backs against the wall.

43' Maicon wins the ball and releases Sneijder for a rare foray into Barcelona's end. The ball runs a little long. Sneijder dives for it, but Pique is there to sweep up. The Dutchman stays on the ground in the hopes that Barcelona will do the gentlemanly thing and put the ball out of play. They do not. It goes to Messi, who dashes into space before tumbling to the pitch. Chivu has just wiped him out. There's a yellow card and a whole lot of noise. Mourinho's smiling. As the half ends, he whispers a little something into Guardiola's ear.

45' Despite finishing the half with a whopping 78% possession, Barcelona only have seven shots to show for it. Only one of those hit the target. Inter have done excellent job clearing the lines and boxing Barcelona out of dangerous areas.

50' Barcelona haven't started the second half with much intensity. If anything, they've looked desperate. They're lobbing balls into the area, which Inter are all too happy to let them do as they clear every last one. Inter also sell a couple of fouls to break up the play nicely. It's working out well for them.

57' Camp Nou is growing restless. While the fans whistle Inter the few times they actually get the ball, they're also unhappy with Barcelona's approach. It's long balls and speculative shots that go nowhere fast. There's no patience to their build-up play. Ibrahimovic is all on his own and begging for service. This team is better than what they're showing.

60' Busquets' midfield clearance lands at Ibrahimovic's feet, and the Swede lays it off for Messi, who's gearing up for another one of those runs. But Samuel steps out of defense and separates the Ballon d'Or winner from the ball like it's nothing. It's such confident defending. If he gets that wrong, Messi and Ibrahimovic don't have much stopping them.

62' Barcelona finally thread together a quick passing sequence and it nearly leads to an excellent chance. Messi shows for the ball and gets it and plays a quick pass to Ibrahimovic, who's holding off Samuel in the penalty area. Ibrahimovic lets the ball roll off his right foot and bounce back to Messi, but Lucio and Chivu crowd him out of harm's way. Messi falls, but there's no penalty there. It's more brilliant defending.

70' Lucio clears Alves' cross from the right side before Keita can get a head to it and crumbles to the ground without drawing much contact. Inter have made a meal of a number of tackles, successfully wiping minutes off the clock.

72' How have Inter ended up in Barcelona's area? Maicon plays the ball to substitute Sulley Muntari and he dances around the right of the penalty area. Four Inter players are in and around the box in their most advanced move yet. Barcelona concede a corner kick for the second time. More minutes are lost.

75' Camp Nou is chanting "Messi" in that famous swaying tone and Barcelona are ramping up the pressure. Alves wins a duel on the right side of Inter's area, and the ball falls to Pedro, who leaves it for Messi to thread a tight pass between a pair of collapsing defenders. Alves' subsequent shot is blocked. "They shall not pass," commentator Clive Tyldesley says.

78' Substitute Jeffren Suarez's ground ball slides across the six-yard box for fellow bench player Bojan Krkic, but it rolls past him and ends up at Pedro's feet. Eto'o — left-back Samuel Eto'o — matches the Spaniard stride for stride and kicks it out for a corner kick.

81' Bojan can't believe it. Messi's dipping cross drops for Bojan as he races in behind Samuel, and the forward nudges it narrowly wide of the near post from about eight yards.

84' Finally, a breakthrough. Pique, now an auxiliary center-forward, gives Barcelona a 1-0 lead. Xavi slips Pique through as Eto'o puts him under pressure and Inter's defense jumps up to try and catch Pique offside. Replays show he may well have been. Muntari on the far side may have played him on. Regardless, the finish is quality. Pique cushions the ball with his left, turns completely around and leaves substitute Cordoba and Julio Cesar on the ground as he slots into an open net. Barcelona need just one more goal to advance on away goals.

88' The 90,000 fans at Camp Nou are in full voice, chanting "Ole!" and blowing horns and waving scarves in the air. They're willing every move forward. Xavi feels bold and takes a shot from distance. The rebound is massive, but it bounces to safety. Messi tries from a similar angle. Julio Cesar collects it this time. Time is ticking.

89' Is that a penalty? Muntari holds Alves as Messi hits a pass to the right of the area. The referee gives nothing.

90+2' BOJAN WINS THE TIE FOR BARCELONA IN STOPPAGE TIME! Or does he? He reacts first to a loose ball in the middle of the area and smacks it into the top right corner. The referee immediately calls it back for handball against Toure. It's harsh: Samuel kicks it clear and strikes Toure from a yard away. His left arm is tucked in, too. There's not much he can do. The ball ricochets off Toure and into Bojan's path, but it's ruled out.^[3]

90+5' INTER HAVE DONE IT! The great resistance has paid off. Mourinho bolts onto the field and holds his index finger up as his players collapse to the ground and hug each other. Mourinho gets into an argument with Barcelona 'keeper Victor Valdes and points up to the Inter fans high above. The sprinklers turn on as Inter celebrate on the field.