Inter Milan sealed a dramatic 4-3 victory over Barcelona on Tuesday night to book their spot in the UEFA Champions League final, winning 7-6 on aggregate after extra time.
Davide Frattesi was the hero at the San Siro, smashing home the winning goal in the 99th minute. The crowd erupted as the Italian midfielder sent Inter into their second Champions League final in three seasons.
Inter will now face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain in the final set for later this month in Munich.
The win was a major boost for Inter, whose hopes of winning three trophies this season had faded. They lost ground to Napoli in Serie A and were knocked out of the Italian Cup by AC Milan just two weeks ago. But beating Barcelona has revived their season.
It looked like Inter were heading out of the tournament when Raphinha scored in the 88th minute to give Barcelona a 3-2 lead on the night. But Inter refused to give up.
Francesco Acerbi equalised in stoppage time, tapping in a cross from Denzel Dumfries to make it 3-3 and force extra time.
Earlier, Inter had taken a 2-0 lead in the first half through goals from Lautaro Martinez and a penalty by Hakan Calhanoglu. Barcelona hit back in the second half with goals from Eric Garcia and Dani Olmo, both assisted by Gerard Martin.
Barca pushed hard to win in extra time, with 16-year-old Lamine Yamal hitting the post. But Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer made crucial saves throughout the game, including a brilliant stop to deny Garcia in the second half.
In the end, it was Frattesi’s powerful strike that settled the contest, sending Inter through to the final and ending Barcelona’s hopes of a historic quadruple this season.
The San Siro exploded with celebration as the final whistle blew on what was arguably the game of the season.
