Barcelona absolutely dominated at home in the Nou Camp, as they emerged as 2-0 winners against Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan.

By Vincent Lai

Gerard Pique and Pedro grabbed the goals for La Blaugrana in the first half, as the hosts were never in danger of losing the game.

Barcelona:

Victor Valdes: 6

Had few saves to make in this game, but did come out well for set-pieces and crosses as Inter played on the counter.

Dani Alves: 7

Overlapped well and got himself to the baseline for many good crosses. Assisted in Barca's second as his looping ball into the area found Pedro for a devastating volley!

Carles Puyol: 7

Marshaled the backline well as he urged his fellow defenders to join the attack. Was calm and collected in the face of Samuel Eto'o breathing down his neck.

Gerard Pique: 8

Scored La Blaugrana's opener as he stole past Thiago Motta to stab the ball in the back of the net after Henry did well to flick the ball into the six-yard area!

Eric Abidal: 6 (off 89')

The Frenchman defended well without much fuss. Subbed off probably due to a distinct lack of flair.

Sergio Busquets: 8 (off 85')

Provided the required steel to complement the flair of Xavi, Keita and Iniesta. Was Barcelona's unsung hero.

Xavi Hernandez: 7

Tested Julio Cesar well with his freekicks, and pulled the strings in midfield for the reigning European champions.

Seydou Keita: 7

Was the legs of the midfield as he covered almost every blade of grass in the game, trekking back to cover for the defence occasionally and supported the attack with his deep-cutting runs. Had a header saved by Cesar from a corner.

Pedro: 8 (off 85')

The youngster is quickly becoming an assassin in front of goal for Barca, scoring in this game after he connected well with Dani Alves' cross to volley the ball past a hapless Julio Cesar!

Andres Iniesta: 7 (off 90')

Provided well taken set-pieces for La Blaugrana, and combined well with Xavi and Busquets to boss the midfield.

Thierry Henry: 6

An off-game for the striker as he was frustrated by Inter's offside trap constantly. Was enveloped by two to three defenders every time he touched the ball.

Subs:

Bojan: 5 (on 85')

Didn't do much in his five minutes of playtime.

Maxwell: No Rating (on 89')

Maxwell sure needed that one minute of exercise...

Jonathan: No Rating (on 90')

Barcelona's human victory cigar.

Inter Milan:

Julio Cesar: 4

Played well in stretches but was horrible when it counted the most. Was nowhere to be found when Pique drew first blood, and flapped at the ball as he elbowed Pedro's volley into goal.

Maicon: 5

Was not his usual marauding self on the right-flank and played too defensively in this match.

Lucio: 6

Did well in shackling Henry with his fellow defenders. Wasn't at his best but did a credible job.

Walter Samuel: 6

Had time on Henry as well, and played a very physical game against the fleet-footed Spanish side.

Christian Chivu: 5

Did not have much of an impact on the game.

Javier Zanetti: 5

Wasn't very convincing in this game. Might be his age..

Esteban Cambiasso: 6 (off 46')

Could not follow-up his magnificent game for the Nerrazzuri in the Serie A over the weekend as he devolved from a complete midfielder back to a ball-winning enforcer, which was not enough against a side like Barcelona.

Thiago Motta: 4

Had a howler as he let Pique go behind his back to score, then proceeded to get himself yellow-carded shortly after. Had a dismal game after that and whined at the referee at every given chance.

Dejan Stankovic: 5 (off 71')

Did he play? Didn't do much on the attacking end to warrant a rating.

Samuel Eto'o: 5

Was thoroughly frustrated by his current side as they failed to get him the ball in any scoring positions. Eto'o was also shackled by his former team as they marked him out of the game.

Diego Milito: 5 (off 81')

Had a forgettable performance on Tuesday night.

Subs:

Ricardo Quaresma: 5 (on 81')

Did not add any value to the game as he could not break down the Barca defence.

Sulley Muntari: 6 (on 46')

Was brought on for attacking purposes, but he could not do much with Inter only having the ball 41% of the time.

Mario Balotelli: 6 (on 71')

Brought on to score, but hardly saw the ball as he was put on a wild goose chase for long balls and lost cases.