With Sneijder out against Barcelona, will Inter Milan’s defence be able to stand their ground at Camp Nou?

By Eric Beard

In Inter’s 3-1 victory over Atalanta at the San Siro, Wesley Sneijder “pulled the rectus femoris muscle in his left leg”, ruling him out for the return leg of the Champions League semifinals at the Camp Nou against defending champions FC Barcelona. Though Inter, coincidentally, also won their first match against Barça 3-1 in Milan, it will be an incredibly difficult task to keep the Blaugrana off the scoresheet in front of 90,000+ crazed Catalans.

Sneijder, in my opinion, has been Inter’s player of the year, as he has been absolutely instrumental for the Nerazzuri when going forward. Sneijder scored the equalizer for Inter, while also setting up the third goal for Diego Milito in the 3-1 win. The Dutch midfielder was substituted at half time during Inter’s 3-1 win on Saturday, a result that has now taken Jose Mourinho’s men top of the table because Sampdoria defeated (now) 2nd place AS Roma at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. For me, there is no one that can replace Sneijder on Inter’s roster, and the squad’s best option is to play defensively and counterattack with the few chances they have.

Esteban Cambiasso and ~~Dejan Stankovic~~ (suspended because of yellow cards) Goran Pandev have seldom been alongside one another in the line-up together because of Sneijder’s presence, but that seems, to me, like it could be an effective option in trying to neutralize the likes of Andrés Iniesta and Xavi in the Barcelona midfield. What do you think? Are Inter doomed without their playmaker, or will Mourinho mastermind a strategy to hold onto the lead his club has from the first leg?