Barcelona's defensive frailty costs them their Champions League dream

The Blaugrana were toppled in an epic second leg at San Siro, as Inter claimed their spot in the Champions League final.

Barca, who must now recover for a potential title-deciding Clasico against Real Madrid in LaLiga on Sunday, were unable to see the result out despite taking an 87th-minute lead through Raphinha.

The Brazil forward, one of the players to thrive under Hansi Flick this season, has contributed to 21 Champions League goals, which matches the all-time single-season record set by Cristiano Ronaldo in 2013-14.

The likes of Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal have contributed to Europe's best attacking unit this campaign.

Barca have scored 163 goals across all competitions, more than any other team from Europe's top five leagues, while they have registered 135.5 expected goals.

However, they have shipped 66 goals from an xG against of 64.3, and their defensive fragility came back to bite them as Inter roared back in dramatic fashion.

After conceding 16 goals in their last seven matches, Barca's young squad has learned a painful lesson.

Across both legs, Inter scored seven goals from only 20 shots, but those chances were worth 3.18 xG – 0.15 per shot. Essentially, Simone Inzaghi's team created opportunities that gave them a 15% chance of scoring on average.

That being said, Barca were also unfortunate. Yamal hit the woodwork with a brilliant low drive just prior to Francesco Acerbi's equaliser deep in second-half stoppage time, and Lewandowski headed over with the goal gaping in extra time.

Inter's Yann Sommer made 14 saves over the two legs, too, including a vital intervention to deny Yamal an equaliser on Tuesday.

Flick's team, though, cannot afford to spend too long wallowing in this defeat.

They must quickly turn their attention to LaLiga; they lead Madrid by four points with as many matches remaining.

Unbeaten domestically since late December, Barca are aiming for a fourth straight win over Madrid this season, and the second in the space of a few weeks following their dramatic Copa del Rey triumph in April, in which they were on the right end of a late comeback.

"It's very cruel. It's true that the team gave everything and deserved to be in the final, but we're young and we have to learn from this and next year we'll give even more of a fight," midfielder Pedri told reporters after the loss to Inter.