MILAN: Inter Milan head into the Champions League semi-finals at risk of finishing the season empty-handed after a lateseason slump killed their treble hopes and has left them wondering where the next win will come from.

Wednesday`s daunting first leg clash at Barcelona could hardly have come at a worst time for Inter who, since reaching the last four, have lost three games on the bounce without scoring agoal.

Those three defeats handed Napoli a threepoint lead at the top of Serie A with four matches remaining and left Inter out of the Coppa Italia after a dismal 3-0 derby defeat at the hands of AC Milan last week.

Simone Inzaghi`s team look tired and bereft of ideas up front. Sunday`s 1-0 home loss to AS Roma was played in front of a soporific San Siro crowd which couldn`t have been more different to the raucous atmosphere which accompanied their thrilling passage past BayernMunich a fortnight ago.

Those three games, however, had something in common: Marcus Thuram was missing.

Thuram, who has been out with a left thigh issue, has scored 17 goals and provided nine assists across all competitions for Inter this season.

Without the France forward, Lautaro Martinez has appeared fatigued attempting to carry Inter`s attack. And Marko Arnautovic, Thuram`s replacement, has beenineffective.

Thuram has returned to training and could even start on Wednesday.

The last time Inter lost three in a row without scoring was in 2012 during Claudio Ranieri`s ill-fated spell on the Nerazzurri bench.

Inter last lost to Roma in October 2022. Three days after that defeat Inter beat Barcelona 1-0 on their way to that season`s final in Istanbul, which they narrowly lost to Manchester City.Barca were Inter`s semifinal opponents 15 years ago when, under Jose Mourinho, the eventual treble winners nearly threw away the Serie A title to Roma, managed by Ranieri, before triumphingonthennalday ofthe season.

Barca lost that first leg 3-1 and a stout defensive performance by Inter in the return match saw them advance to the final 3-2 on aggregate where they beat Bayern.

Memories will comeflooding back ahead of the rematch, especially with the two protagonists owning the same traits as 15 years ago.

Barcelona are back in the Champions League semi-finals for the first time since the 2018-19 season, on the back of by far the best attack in the newlook, 36-team league stage.

With Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski up front, Barca scored 28 goals in eight games and havenetted nine more goals in eliminating Benfica and Borussia Dortmund in the knockouts.

Then there`s Inter, the Italian champions, who conceded just once in eight games in the first stage and held on grimly to oust Bayern in the quarters.

Inter will also have one day less rest after having their match with Roma moved back to Sunday so that it didn`t clash with Pope Francis` funeral, giving France defender Benjamin Pavard less time to recover from an ankle sprain picked up at the weekend.

`EXTRA MOTIVATION` Hansi Flick`s Barca are on a high after beating Real Madrid to win the Cope del Rey on Saturday as their old enemies had a petulant meltdown in a face of a third straight Clasico defeat.

Flick`s side, who top La Liga, completed the first part of their treble bid in a dramatic extra-time 3-2 win, and the manager said it will provide extra moti-vation rather than being a distraction.

`No, what I can see is that everyone is focused on this match, that everyone knows how important it is to be able to go to the Champions League final, Flick told reporters on Tuesday, when asked if he needs to curb the players` euphoria.

`Also this win against Real is very important for the positive vibes, and it could push you also. We know that we have to work hard to reach the final. It`s a dream for everyone to be here, we have to stay focused.

`Inter have a team where some players are at an age where maybe it`s the last opportunity to reach a final and they will give 100%.

Inter`s treble bid might have ended, but Flick said it would not impact the Italian side.

`The Champions League is also for Inter a big chance to win a title, they are two matches away from the final, the same as we are ... it`s totally differ-ent, everyone gives 100 percent, it doesn`t matter about matches in the past,` Flick said.

Barca last reached the Champions League final in 2015 with Lionel Messi as their torch-bearer and Yamal, their `X-factor`, is hoping to lead the Catalan giants back there this season.

The Champions League semi-final is the 17-year-old star`s biggest match so far for Barca, right up there with the Copa del Rey final that Yamal helped Barca win against Real.

Yamal delivered two assists in that clasico thriller to set up Pedri González`s opener and Ferran Torres` clutch equaliser to send it into extra time, where Barca came out on top.

`Everyone knows that Inter is a great defensive team and good on the counter,` Yamal told reporters on Tuesday.

`We will have to be good with the ball and play like we know how to as a team.`-Agencies