The Nerazzurri midfield duo of Marcelo Brozovic and Nicolo Barella is well known for their chemistry both on and off the field.
This midfield partnership between the Croatian and Italian which formed an integral part of Inter Milan’s league title-lifting season of 2020/21, extends to social media as well where they are occasionally seen playing frivolous pranks on each other during training sessions.
The game between Internazionale and hosts Sheriff served up another such rib-tickling moment, as Barella ensured that his buddy Brozovic gets his maiden Champions League goal in the latter’s 27th UCL appearance.
The move was initiated by former Barcelona man Arturo Vidal, who laid the ball out to Brozovic right at the edge of the box. The Croatian international showed quick feet, performing a neat fake-shot beating 2 incoming defenders to make space and shoot goal-wards.
Just before Brozovic unleashed the shot, Barella found himself in the line of fire. The Italian thus instinctively sprung and leap-frogged towards the left to make way for his pal Brozovic, who then smashed the ball with his right foot towards the bottom corner, putting the visitors in the lead at the 54th minute.
The spectators were treated to three more goals in the game. Two from the visitors, owing to the efforts of Milan Skriniar (65th minute) and Alexis Sanchez (82nd minute), and one from the hosts at the death, thanks to Sheriff winger Adama Traore (90+1 minute). Simone Inzaghi’s men thus wrapped up the fixture with a comprehensive 3-1 win, taking the 3 points home.
Needless to say, the visual of Barella diving across the Sheriff box was met with loud applause on social media. The fans were seemingly taken aback by the Italian’s quick thinking and went on to claim that “the dive from Barellino was just about as beautiful as the goal itself!”
Moving forward in the tournament, the Inter supporters would be hoping for more of the same from the midfield duo as the club looks to progress further in the competition with a similar sparkling form.
