Barcelona had already secured top spot in Group F and a place in the knockout stage of the Champions League as they faced Inter on Tuesday night.
In turn, the Catalan giants had little to play for other than trying to finish off the group stage in style, and coach Ernesto Valverde named a strong starting XI to suggest that they would take the game seriously.
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That would have been ideal news for Borussia Dortmund who are involved in a tussle with Inter for the second qualifying spot in the group, and the German giants were handed a major boost midway through the first half.
As seen below, a brilliant move from Barcelona carved the Inter defence open as Antoine Griezmann drilled a pass into Arturo Vidal’s feet, and the Chilean stalwart’s deft touch pushed the ball into the path of Carles Perez who did the rest with a top finish.
Even without a number of their key players in the XI, the reigning La Liga champions continued to show their class in possession after coming under pressure early on. However, it was their slick, classy play which was rewarded with the first goal of the game.
PEREZ GOAL , BARCA 1-0, NEW ACCOUNT FOLLOW FOR LIVE GOALS pic.twitter.com/NXCgJTycG3
— HD GOALS LIVE (@HDGoalsLive) December 10, 2019