Another classic in the Champions League semifinal! Inter Milan and FC Barcelona made one of the greatest Champions League semifinals of all time, where the Italian club Inter Milan eliminated Barcelona with a dramatic 7-6 aggregate.
After a thrilling 3-3 draw in the first leg, Inter Milan welcomed Barcelona in the second leg at San Siro. The Nerazzurri had a 2-0 lead in the first half, but like the first leg, Barcelona trailed and were close to winning the match as they were in a 3-2 lead until the injury time. But Inter Milan made a dramatic comeback against all odds and scored in the injury time, taking the match into extra-time, where they scored again to beat the Spanish side with an unbelievable 4-3 margin to secure the Champions League final.
Match Report
The second leg of the semifinal between Inter Milan and Barcelona started with both sides playing aggressive football. Barcelona were the dominant side as they took control of the midfield, creating tons of chances. But the home side responded well and started breaking Barca’s defense after a few minutes.
It was captain Lautaro Martinez who drew the first blood with a brilliant goal in the 21st minute. He scored with the assist of Denzel Dumfries to give a crucial lead to Inter Milan.
Argentine World Cup winner Lautaro Martinez earned a penalty for the Nerazzurri just before the break, from where Hakan Çalhanoğlu made the scoreline 2-0 against Barcelona.
It seemed Barca couldn’t survive, but the Catalan side showed a great mentality like they did in the first leg. After the break, Eric Garcia gave Barcelona a massive boost with a goal in the 54th minute. The goal instantly boosted the visitors, leading them to level the scoreline within six minutes. This time, Dani Olmo found the equalizer with a powerful header in the 60th minute.
Barcelona then kept pressing high following their second goal, and they almost won the match when Raphinha scored in the dying moments. In the 87th minute, Raphinha beat Yan Sommer to give Barcelona a 3-2 lead over Inter Milan. Fans were celebrating as Barcelona were close to securing the final, but the drama was yet to come.
Inter Milan never gave up the match, and they fought with their lives until the end. Acerbi made the magic in the injury time when he scored an unbelievable goal in the 93rd minute to level the scoreline, taking the game into the time.
The Nerazzurri were the ultimate gainer in the extra time as Davide Frettesi scored the golden goal in the 99th minute, which secured a dramatic 4-3 win for Inter Milan and also secured the Champions League final.
Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi shared his thoughts after this unbelievable semifinal. He highly appreciated his players and said, “The players delivered two monstrous performances to reach this final, and I’m very proud of them – they gave everything. Those who came on as substitutes were great and kept the level high, and they deserve a victory like this in front of our fans. They were exemplary. I made substitutions which helped us believe and limit a team like Barcelona. With heart, we overcame every obstacle.”
Meanwhile, Barca boss Hansi Flick believes his team needs to be mature and improve in defense. Flick said, “We will learn from this, progress. We want to continue learning and next season we will be back.”
“We are a young side and we have to mature. We are working on it and we have to improve in defence and in other aspects.”
