Amofokhai Williams
Inter Milan secured a dramatic 4-3 victory over Barcelona on Tuesday night to book their place in the final of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League, advancing 7-6 on aggregate after an intense semi-final clash in Italy.
The Alarmee reports that the match, played at a feverish pace, saw Inter take an early lead in the 21st minute through Lautaro Martinez, who latched onto a well-placed pass from Denzel Dumfries to fire past goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.
Inter doubled their lead in first-half stoppage time when Hakan Calhanoglu converted a penalty awarded following a VAR review of a foul on Martinez.
Barcelona mounted a strong second-half comeback, beginning in the 54th minute with Eric Garcia’s top-corner strike. Dani Olmo added another with a header in the 60th minute to level the tie at 2-2 on the night.
Raphinha gave the visitors a 3-2 lead in the 87th minute after capitalising on a rebound inside the box.
Just minutes later, Inter equalised again in stoppage time when Francesco Acerbi fired home a late effort, bringing the match to 3-3.
With the aggregate score tied at 6-6, the match moved into extra time. Inter’s Davide Frattesi scored the decisive goal in the 99th minute, finishing coolly after being set up by Mehdi Taremi to give the hosts a 4-3 win on the night and a 7-6 aggregate victory.
Despite late efforts from Barcelona, including a near-miss from Lamine Yamal and a header off-target from Robert Lewandowski, Inter held on to seal their place in the Champions League final.
