Highlights

The match was always going to be a draw — that would put Barcelona on the cusp of passage to the Round of 16, and that would be enough for Internazionale to put Tottenham firmly in the rearview mirror. 

And so it was a draw.

Inter constantly put nine defenders behind the ball, leaving Mauro Icardi to halfheartedly pressure Gerard Pique while Radja Nainggolan played the role of attacking midfielder in name only, but things didn’t go exactly to plan for Luciano Spalletti's men.

There are only a handful of players on the planet who can consistently alter games with their combination of vision, creativity and passing technique, but it should come as no surprise that they all ply their trade at Europe’s most feared attacking sides: Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Ivan Rakitic, PSG’s Neymar and Marco Verratti, Bayern Munich’s Thiago Alcantara and James Rodriguez. 

 The MLS conference semifinals kicked off yesterday with four enthralling matches played out over the course of nine hours.