Barcelona travelled to AC Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday looking to move onto nine points in Group H.
Robinho opened the scoring with 10 minutes on the clock, but Barcelona were level after 23 minutes when Lionel Messi slotted home from inside the box.
Both sides had opportunities in the second period, but neither could make the breakthrough with the match ending 1-1 in Italy.
Here, Sports Mole dissects the 90 minutes of action between the two European rivals.
Match statistics:
AC Milan:
Shots: 5
On target: 2
Possession: 28%
Corners: 2
Fouls: 16
Barcelona:
Shots: 13
On target: 6
Possession: 72%
Corners: 5
Fouls: 9
Was the result fair?
In truth, neither side really did enough to deserve to claim all three points this evening. As expected, Barcelona dominated the possession throughout the 90 minutes, but they did not test Marco Amelia in the Milan goal on too many occasions. Milan also had their moments in attack, but they were few and far between. A score draw is just about a fair reflection of the events in Italy.
AC Milan's performance
The Italian outfit started brightly with Robinho and Kaka full of running in the early stages, but it did not take long for Barcelona to exert their dominance after levelling with 23 minutes on the clock. Milan might not have been too adventurous in attack, but they were defensively outstanding against the Spanish champions. It was a performance that could kick-start their season.
Barcelona's performance
Barcelona struggled for inspiration in their 0-0 draw with Osasuna in the league at the weekend and that was also indeed the case this evening. It will not come as much of a surprise that they dominated the possession throughout the entirety, but Messi and Neymar were starved off service in attacking areas. There were also a few worrying moments in defence. Overall, there is much to ponder for the Catalan outfit despite their impressive start to the season.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Cristian Zapata: Plenty of attacking talent on the field this evening, but this award goes to the defender. The 27-year-old was in sensational form in the San Siro as he quelled attack after attack, especially in the second period. Those in the Barcelona forward line will certainly know that they have been in a game.
Biggest gaffe
One word - defending. Both sides were guilty of some horror moments this evening, with a poor mistake from the Barcelona back four allowing Robinho to open the scoring, while Milan's defence were all at sea when Messi slotted home to level.
Referee performance
The man in the spotlight this evening was German referee Felix Brych, who made the headlines at the weekend for awarding Bayern Leverkusen striker Stefan Kiessling a goal in the Bundesliga, despite the ball entering the back of the net through the side-netting. Tonight, however, he was hardly noticed as he went under the radar for much of the evening.
What next?
AC Milan: Milan return to Serie A action at the weekend with a trip to Parma.
Barcelona: Just the small matter of El Clasico for Barcelona on Saturday when they welcome Real Madrid to the Camp Nou in La Liga.
Matt Law
