"Way too early" - Thierry Henry claims Barcelona made a huge mistake in draw with Inter Milan
Former Barcelona forward Thierry Henry has criticized the Catalans for making their UEFA Champions League match against Inter Milan an emotional game 'way too early'.
Barcelona played their fourth Champions League group stage match of the season against Inter on Wednesday (October 12). The game proved to be an entertaining watch for the neutrals as it ended in a 3-3 draw at Camp Nou.
Full Time #BarçaInter https://t.co/3Yh1HTpjaK
Ousmane Dembele opened the scoring for the Blaugrana in the first half, but saw the goal nullified by Nico Barella in the 50th minute. Lautaro Martinez went on to give Inter the lead in the 63rd minute.
Catalans frontman Robert Lewandowski brought the game back to square one 19 minutes later. Robin Gosens put Inter back in front in the 89th minute only for the Pole to equalize again three minutes later.
While Xavi's side managed to avoid defeat, they now face the risk of missing out on a Champions League Round of 16 spot. They currently sit third in their group with four points, three behind second-placed Inter.
Assessing the game, Henry pointed out that the La Liga giants went into a frenzy way too early in the match. He criticized his former club for failing to keep things under control against Inter. He said on CBS Sports:
"They took the game, Barcelona, to an emotional game too early, that's what. You don't go crazy still [with] 30 minutes to go and make it a crazy game yet, it's still 1-1."
"In the last five minutes, in the last 10 minutes, you go and you try to win it because you want to take control of the qualification. They made it a cup tie and an emotional game way too early."
"They took it to an emotional game too early!"
Thierry Henry and @carra23 believe that Barcelona lost their composure as they fought for #UCL survival. https://t.co/nziadewIN5
Jamie Carragher assesses Barcelona's performance
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher went on to corroborate Henry's claims. He stressed that Sergio Busquets and Gerard Pique should have ensured their teammates stayed calm throughout the game. He said:
"I don't think it's about whether it is a knockout or a group stage [match]. I think it's about, you need to calm everybody down. Busquets and Pique, two of the greatest players we've seen for Barcelona and of this generation, need to settle everybody down."
"It didn't need to become an end-to-end game. What they needed to do for the next 10 or 15 minutes was not score, [but] to make sure Inter Milan didn't score and then eventually push Inter Milan back and keep sustaining that attack."
The Blaugrana are scheduled to face Bayern Munich and Viktoria Plzen in their remaining Champions League group stage games on October 26 and November 1, respectively.