No Goals But Inter Milan And Barcelona Show What They Are Made Up Of.

The champions of Italy and Spain squared off against each other in a Champions League group match in midweek. Though much of the pre-match hype was about the battle between Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Samuel Eto'o to see which club (Barcelona or Inter Milan) gained the most benefit after both these clubs exchanged players during the summer transfer window, it was more than just that.

No one would have thought that a game between the reigning champions and the Serie A champions would be a dull affair. The excitement started from the moment the referee blew his whistle to signal the start of the Group F match.

Barcelona played as though they were the home team. As usual, their beautiful passing game was an attraction to all those watching the match. But, it was the home team who got the early chances, Diego Milito wasting pretty much all the shots he had. Most of it just went straight to Victor Valdes. There were also chances from Wesley Sneidjer and Maicon.

The two men in the limelight - Samuel Eto'o and Zlatan Ibrahimovic had their chances and they certainly showed in this match that they have had no problems settling in well with their respective new clubs. The partnership between Samuel Eto'o and Diego Milito looks to be bearing fruit while Ibrahimovic himself has said that it looks like he alongside Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta have been playing together for 'many years'.

Italian defences has always been known as the best in the world and Inter Milan showed why. Messi, Henry and Ibrahimovic did find difficulties to create oppurtinities. The Inter defense led by Brazilian captain Lucio, veteran Zanetti and Romanian Chivu were impressive.

While Barca were constantly going forward, Inter Milan found a way to not let Messi and company score. That prompted Inter Milan's coach Jose Mourinho to say that his team were 'playing well without the ball.'

This season's Champions League looks really challenging to all the top European clubs aiming to claim the lucrative prize. 2008 winners Manchester United are drawn with German champions Wolfsburg in Group B, 9 time winners Real Madrid will have 2007 champions AC Milan as company in Group C with Real Madrid desperate to reach the final in where their stadium, The Santiago Bernabeu will be contesting the final while Bayern Munich are in the same group with Juventus in Group A.

I would not be suprised to see either Barcelona or Inter Milan in the final. These two teams has shown to the world that they can entertain fans even when the match does not produce any goals after the final whistle. Pure class.....