Barcelona crashes Internazionale

Reigning champions Barcelona gave their chances of progression from Champions League Group F a huge boost with a 2-0 home win over Internazionale.

Defender Gerard Pique volleyed an early first from a corner before winger Pedro finished off a sublime move to make it two on 29 minutes, although Inter keeper Julio Cesar was at fault.
Following the earlier 0-0 draw between Rubin Kazan and Dynamo Kiev, the result puts Barca top of the table with eight points.
Rubin are second and Inter third - both on six points - and Dynamo have five.
With injuries to key forwards Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, there were nerves flying around in Barcelona prior to the match.
The Blaugrana had taken only one point from their last two European games and faced the prospect of becoming the first holders since the inaugural Champions League in 1993 to be eliminated at the group stage of the tournament.
Messi and Ibrahimovic were ultimately restricted to the bench, kept in reserve should Pep Guardiola have need of his superstars later in the match.
However he need not have worried: led by the silky-skilled Andres Iniesta, the home side were too good for Jose Mourinho's Inter team on the night.
The first match in Milan ended a disappointing 0-0 draw, and this was no classic - but the contributions of Iniesta kept visiting centre-halves Lucio and Walter Samuel constantly on their toes from the first moments, the Spain star unlucky to not find the arriving Xavi in the box with a curled cross on seven minutes.

Barca took the lead after 10, Xavi's corner flicked on by Thierry Henry for former Manchester United defender Pique to thump home first time on the far side of the box.
Henry struggled to find space all evening but in the process created it for young winger Pedro, a menace on the left, and Iniesta, playing in an advanced role: Pedro almost found Iniesta with a low pass after Inter were carved wide open by the diminutive attacker with the help of Seydou Keita.
Inter had barely attacked in the opening quarter before former Barca midfielder Thiago Motta was booked for a challenge on Sergio Busquets. Their main outlet was down the right with full-back Maicon, but a lack of possession killed their hopes of creating any chances for returning striker Samuel Eto'o.
Lucio just intercepted a Pedro centre after he had skinned Maicon then Javier Zanetti, but he could do nothing two minutes later when he arrived at the far side to finish an innovative move.
Xavi received the ball into feet and played an immediate one-touch diagonal pass which split the away defence, Daniel Alves racing on to it on the right; the Brazil wing-back's delicate lofted cross was perfect for Pedro, although his shot into the ground and into the far corner should have been parried more effectively by the usually-reliable Cesar.
Barca captain Carles Puyol went into the book for a studs-up tackle on Diego Milito - the Argentina striker enjoyed little success from deep but put himself about, including a retaliatory barge on Puyol following that tackle.
Milito forced a save out of Victor Valdes from 20 yards before half-time but Inter's best chance fell to Dejan Stankovic, who lifted the ball over the bar after the wayward keeper miscontrolled an Eric Abidal backpass.
Eto'o - booed by some but welcomed back by banners inside the ground in honour of his two Champions League triumphs - went down in the box when challenged by Puyol and again wanted a penalty in the second half when Alves shielded a dangerous ball from him.
There were few chances in the second 45 minutes as the game descended into niggly fouls and spells of treatment from the physios: the best of them saw Cesar brilliantly save a Xavi downward header from an Alves cross.
Pedro was booked while more pertinently Inter full-back Cristian Chivu was also shown yellow for a blatant block on Iniesta, ruling him out of the crucial final group match at home to Rubin.
Eto'o was halted by the offside flag on several occasions as his former team-mates left gaps in their own half - and when he broke free inside the box on the left he could only volley high and wide of the far post.
Javier Zanetti was also cautioned before the end as a frustrated Inter chased Barcelona around the pitch.
It was all in vain as the Italian champions' 10-match unbeaten run in all competitions came to an end, while Barca ended their poor recent run of form in Europe to take pole position in the group.