There were 13 total goals and multiple multi-goal comebacks. There was pandemonium, stoppage-time salvation and extra-time ecstasy. And at the end of a Champions League semifinal for the ages, one of the wildest that soccer has ever seen, there was Inter Milan, roaring and somehow still standing.
Inter beat Barcelona 4-3 on Tuesday in a preposterous second leg, and 7-6 on aggregate to reach the final.
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The Italian giants, spurred on by a constant surge of San Siro noise, blew a two-goal lead but survived with an equalizer in the 93rd minute of regulation; and then won a chaotic game, and the semifinal, with a wonderful team goal in the 99th minute, deep into a wet Italian night.
That decisive goal, scored by substitute Davide Frattesi, set off explosive celebrations in Milan.
“When we took the goal, the 3-2, I spoke with Marcus (Thuram) and I told him, ‘Marcus, we passed, we passed. Don’t worry, we’re going to the final,'” Frattesi told the CBS broadcast after the match. “I don’t know how I scored the goal.”
When pressed on his decision to take his sweet time before firing off the game-winner, Frattesi jokingly responded, “I don’t know. Maybe because I was thinking that if I don’t score, I’m f***ed.”
But it was 10 minutes earlier when the San Siro truly erupted. Francesco Acerbi, a central defender who had not scored all season, turned in an equalizer, ripped off his shirt, and everyone went mad.
And Barca crumbled. A team of so much talent, and bravery, and relentless aggression, fell on its own sword. It has been the best team in Spain, in Europe, in global soccer, throughout a splendid 2024-25 season, but it had one tragic weakness: It struggled again and again to close out games.
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So even when it came back from two goals down, for the second time in six days, to take a late lead, it could not book a ticket in the Champions League final.
Inter, instead, will play May 31 in Munich against the winner of Wednesday’s semifinal between PSG and Arsenal.
Tuesday’s was a game of two halves, and then madness. It was calm, then one-sided, then turned on its head, then unhinged.
In the first half, Inter slowed Barca, then ambushed the now-former Champions League favorites. Federico Dimarco jumped Dani Olmo in midfield, won a tackle, and the quick change of possession left Barca’s back four exposed. Dimarco, the left wingback, slid in Denzel Dumfries, the right wingback. Dumfries squared the ball to Lautaro Martínez, who finished into a mostly empty net.
And on the brink of halftime, the hosts doubled their lead. Martínez won a penalty. Hakan Çalhanoglu converted. Barca limped into its locker room two goals behind.
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But over the opening 15 minutes of the second half, the Blaugrana climbed out of their hole. Eric Garcia guided a delightful volley into the top corner.
Six minutes later, Gerard Martin, the unheralded backup left back who’d assisted the first goal, served in another glorious cross. Dani Olmo nodded it past Yann Sommer. And just like that, Barca was level.
In the 87th minute, as the game stumbled, still drunkenly, toward extra time, Raphinha scored what seemed, to everyone inside the San Siro and watching around the globe, like the winner.
But Acerbi, perhaps the unlikeliest hero, ensured that it wouldn’t be. Frattesi ensured that the celebrations would continue. Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer, with his umpteenth fantastic save of the night, denied Lamine Yamal late in the second half of extra time, and ensured that his team, unlike Barca, would hold on to an unforgettable victory.
“We saw a lot of situations before the game that (Yamal) is coming inside, he has the ball near his feet and then he shoots quickly,” Sommer said post-match. ” … I was really happy to save this ball because it gave us a little bit of power, it gave us the confidence back for these last minutes.”
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Now the world waits to see if they take that confidence into the final in Munich.
Here’s how the match unfolded in real time:
