Barcelona is defeated by Inter Milan thanks to a strike by Hakan Calhanoglu.

Tuesday’s 1-0 victory over Barcelona for Inter Milan thanks to a goal from Hakan Calhanoglu put a stop to the Italians’ recent struggles and increased their chances of progressing to the Champions League’s knockout stages. Inter entered the Group C encounter at the San Siro in terrible shape, having dropped five of their previous ten games overall. However, Turkey’s Calhanoglu put an end to the crisis talk when he scored the game’s lone goal just before halftime.

The fact that Simone Inzaghi’s job as Inter’s head coach was questioned prior to his team’s victory over Barca and take them into second place in the group would also make him smile.

Inter now lead the Catalan powerhouses by three points and trail leaders Bayern by the same number after their 5-0 demolition of Viktoria Plzen earlier on Tuesday.

“For us, showing something to our devoted followers today was extremely crucial. We demonstrated that we merited it, “Calhanoglu stated.

Ousmane Dembele hit the post in the second half, and Pedri had a goal disallowed for handball in the 68th minute after a VAR review as a worn-out Inter retreated back into their own area late on.

However, unlike prior weeks, Inzaghi’s well-prepared team wasn’t penalized for the few mistakes they made. In fact, they even avoided a late penalty appeal for handball, which left Barca perplexed.

“The handball regulations are unknown to even they (the referees). When the identical move occurs later, they don’t call the handball they initially called, “Sergi Roberto, perplexed, stated.

“We’ve lost this opportunity, but we still have a game at Camp Nou next week (next week). Although it didn’t work out that way, we knew that if we won both here and at home, we would be through. However, in Camp Nou, with our supporters, we know we can succeed.”

In the seventh minute, Calhanoglu unleashed a long-range effort that Marc-Andre ter Stegen did well to tip over. This served as a warning shot to Barca.

The hosts mounted a number of counterattacks in the first half, content to sit back and take in the inevitable extended stretches of Barca possession, most of which ended in failure.

As Inter initially dictated the pace of the game and troubled the opposition when they did break forward, Robert Lewandowski was left alone up front.

When referee Slavko Vincic reviewed the pitchside monitor for a handball by Eric Garcia midway through the first half, Inter assumed they had been awarded a penalty. However, Lautaro Martinez was later determined to have strayed offside during the buildup.

But two minutes into the first half’s extra time, Inter received their just desserts when Calhanoglu received a pass from Federico Dimarco and buried his first goal since August into the bottom corner.

Ousmane Dembele had a fantastic opportunity to tie the game just after the hour mark, but he could only smash it off the near post. Barca were much more dangerous after the interval and were unlucky not to be level.

Soon after, the away supporters were jubilant, in part due to Andre Onana, who flapped at a cross and patted it down to Pedri, who tucked in a straightforward finish.

The San Siro, however, quickly let out a huge roar of relief as Vincic, following yet another on-field review, saw Garcia handling the ball before it fell to Pedri and restored the home team’s razor-thin lead.

Deep into the over eight minutes of additional time, Inter supporters’ hearts were in their mouths once more. A protracted VAR review for a potential Denzel Dumfries handball ultimately went in the wing-favor, back’s earning a crucial three points for the hosts.