Inter vs Barcelona Review
Inter, the last Italian team to win the trophy after their victory in 2010, will travel to Munich for their second UEFA Champions League final in three seasons. They achieved this by dramatically defeating Barcelona 4-3 after extra time at the San Siro, winning 7-6 on aggregate, which marks the highest number of goals ever scored in a two-legged UCL semi-final. Following a thrilling 3-3 draw in the first leg last week, the atmosphere for the second leg was electric, culminating in Inter’s stunning opening goal. Federico Dimarco quickly intercepted the ball from Dani Olmo in midfield and passed it to Denzel Dumfries, who set up Lautaro Martínez for an easy finish into an open net.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan then narrowly missed scoring as he shot just past Wojciech Szczęsny’s post. The next twist in this exciting match occurred just before halftime when VAR determined that Pau Cubarsí’s sliding tackle on Martínez was slightly late. Hakan Çalhanoğlu converted the resulting penalty into the bottom-left corner, igniting cheers from the crowd and frustration from Hansi Flick.
After coming from behind in three of their last five competitive matches, Barcelona once again defied the odds and equalized when Eric García volleyed Gerard Martín’s cross into the top-left corner just 10 minutes into the second half. With renewed momentum, García’s later miss was inconsequential as another curling ball from Martín found an unmarked Olmo, who headed it in to level the match, marking the first UCL semi-final since 2022 to reach double digits in aggregate goals.
From that point on, Barcelona dominated, coming close with Yamal before completing a thrilling second-half comeback with only two minutes left in regulation. Raphinha struck a powerful left-footed shot at Sommer, and the rebound fell right back to him, allowing him to slot it into the far corner and give Barcelona the lead for the first time in the match. However, just as the visitors began to dream of the final, Dumfries delivered a cross that Francesco Acerbi redirected into the top corner at the near post, sending the game into extra time.
The hosts appeared revitalized when the match resumed and regained the lead when Mehdi Taremi set up Davide Frattesi with a well-placed cross from Marcus Thuram, allowing Frattesi to score in the far corner. After the goal, the Inter defense held strong to secure a memorable victory.
With a repeat of their 2010 semi-final triumph over Barcelona, Simone Inzaghi will be hopeful that this is a sign they will claim their fourth Champions League title when they face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain at the end of May. Meanwhile, Barcelona’s chances of achieving a treble have faded, but they are still in contention for a domestic double if they can defeat Real Madrid for the fourth time this season.
