Luciano Spalletti Proud of 'Brave' Inter After Mauro Icardi's Late Equaliser Against Barcelona

Inter earned a somewhat undeserved draw on Tuesday night against Barcelona as Mauro Icardi's late equaliser cancelled out Malcom's opener for the visitors. 

Luciano Spalletti's side struggled to create anything throughout the entirety of the Champions League clash and looked to have lost the game in the 83rd minute as Malcom put Barcelona 1-0 up. However, Inter rallied and found an equaliser through their star striker Icardi, who has a habit of bailing his team out of trouble.

"It seemed as though the match was going to finish 0-0," Spalletti said, via Inter's official website. "Their goal came in an unexpected fashion but our reaction was vital. 

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"The boys didn’t let up and the fact that Icardi went straight to get the ball after scoring the equaliser shows the character and mentality of this team."

Whilst the Italian side's performance fell flat, Spalletti revealed his side's intentions prior to the match, explaining: "We wanted to put in a performance that the fans could appreciate and the team responded in the right way.

"We were brave and we performed in line with what the crowd wanted."

Spalletti was full of praise for Barcelona and understood why his side struggled to maintain possession against the Catalonian giants, adding: "We struggled in the first half because we didn’t manage to keep the ball and we committed too many errors that allowed them to have possession. At that point, they were stronger than us.

"It was a match full of great effort because they have amazing quality and force you to stay tight on the edge of the area. Then, when you win the ball back they’re ready to jump on you straight away."

Having rescued a vital point, Inter's Champions League destiny is in their own hands and Spalletti was keen to point this out, remarking: "Qualification is in our hands, but we can’t let up in our remaining matches. We must go to London to get a result, convinced of our own abilities."

Inter's next Champions League fixture is at Wembley against Tottenham Hotspur, who came from a goal down to beat PSV on Tuesday night. As a result of the 1-1 draw against Barcelona, should Inter get a result against Spurs, it will guarantee their progress into the next round of the competition.