Barcelona stepped back from the edge but still stare into the abyss. A late goal from Robert Lewandowski, his second of a dramatic night, keeps them in the Champions League – but only just and probably not for long. At 3-2 down, Robin Gosens having seemingly slipped in the knife with a minute to go, they were into the 92nd when the Pole produced a superb header to put them level against Internazionale and give them the tiniest glimmer of hope. Their fate is not in their own hands – and to judge by the way they defended here that might not be the best place for it anyway – but they are not finished. Not yet, anyway.
This was a wild match, a glorious game of excellence and errors, with an even wilder finish. From 1-0 up through Ousmane Dembélé’s first-half goal to 2-1 down with strikes from Nicolò Barella and the hugely impressive Lautaro Martínez; from 2-2 via Lewandowski’s first equaliser with eight minutes left, and desperately chasing the winner that would have changed everything, to 3-2 down and then 3-3 in three minutes, Barcelona were left breathing, if barely.
