Inter Milan recorded a dramatic extra time 4-3 victory over Barcelona to qualify for the final of the 2024-25 Champions League.
It was a classic game with fireworks, cracking goals, sweat and tears, the type that football fans will not forget in a hurry especially Barcelona fans.
The Blaugrana recovered from a 2-0 deficit in the first half to take a 3-2 lead before Inter Milan fought back to drag the encounter into extra time.
Lautaro Martinez, and Hakan Çalhanoğlu gave Inter Milan a 2-0 lead going into the second half but Eric Garcia, and Dani Olmo brought Barcelona back into the game in the second half.
Raphinha thought he had given Barcelona the victory in the 87th minute with a close range finish from a rebound of his initial effort but Inter Milan had other ideas.
In the 93rd minute, Francesco Acerbi unleashed an unstoppable strike into the bottom corner to force the game into extra time, making it 6-6 on aggregate.
Inter Milan goalkeeper, Yan Sommer produced a series of match-winning saves to keep them in the game before Davide Frattesi scored an extra time winner to send Inter Milan to their second Champions League final in three years.
It was an heartbreaking defeat for Barcelona players, who gave everything in the encounter but Inter Milan snatched it at the death.
The tie was the joint-highest scoring semi-final tie in the Champions League history, matching the 13 goals scored when Liverpool defeated Roma 7-6 on aggregate in 2017-18.
Barcelona coach, Hansi Flick was disappointed with the result but impressed with his team’s stunning performance.
He said: “I’m very disappointed that we’re out – but I’m not disappointed about the performance of my team. They tried everything.
“We’re out, but next year we’ll start again and we’ll make our fans, the club and everyone around us happy.
“They [Inter] are a really good team, a strong team who defend well but also they have a really good striker.
“In the second half we were really good. I don’t want to speak about the referee but every 50/50 decision was for them. We gave everything but in the end it was like that and that’s what made me a bit sad.”
Similarly, Inter Milan captain, Lautaro Martinez was delighted with the team’s performance.
He said: “I am so happy. I am so proud of Inter Milan, I am so grateful to the fans and to my family who are here today.
“I wasn’t in a great place and I wasn’t 100% today, but the medical staff worked so hard to get me match fit.
“We will do what we can – we just have one more step to go. We want to go there and win it. We will do all we can to ensure that we get Inter Milan to the high summit of European football.”
Inter Milan will now take on the winner between Arsenal and PSG in the Champions League final on May 31st at the Allianz Arena in Germany.
