MILAN: Inter Milan are one victory away from Champions League redemption after Tuesday’s chaotic, mesmerising 4-3 extra-time victory over Barcelona at a rain-soaked San Siro which propelled the Italians into their second final in three seasons.

Simone Inzaghi’s team had been in a fragile state in recent weeks after their treble bid went up in smoke, surrendering top spot in Serie A to Napoli and being dumped out of the Coppa Italia by local rivals AC Milan.

But beating star-studded Barca, and the incredible manner in which they did it, has completely changed the atmosphere at Inter who are now bullish about their chances of being crowned kings of Europe for the fourth time.

Inter will take on either Arsenal or Paris St Germain in Munich knowing their task will be nowhere near as difficult as it was two years ago, when they were narrowly beaten by possibly the best Manchester City team of the Pep Guardiola era.

That single-goal defeat to City in Istanbul was a bitter one for Inter who felt they were the better team on the night, bridging a monstrous financial gap with the mega-rich Premier League club with tactical nous and desire.

“We’ve been thinking about this since the day after we lost the last final,” said captain Lautaro Martinez, almost sobbing with joy after the final whistle. “Now we’ve got to rest and finish the season well, knowing we have another opportunity to make history.”

Even Inzaghi almost conceded Inter would be favoured after eliminating not only Barca but Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals.

“We have grown since then,” he said. “These guys have been extraordinary, we have to continue. The final will be played against a really great team, whether it’s Arsenal or PSG. It will be difficult but after beating Barcelona and Bayern … well they’re probably the best teams in Europe at the moment.”

Inter have always had the reputation of being an anarchic, crazy club, as capable of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory as they are winning major titles.

Their 7-6 triumph over Barca, which flipped one way and the next over the course of two barely believable legs, fully lived up to their nickname of “Pazza (mad) Inter”.

Martinez had been a doubt right until the eve of the match but recovered from a hamstring injury in time to both score and win a penalty which gave Inter their 2-0 half-time lead.

Barca staged a comeback but just as it looked like Raphinha had sealed a stunning win, Francesco Acerbi — who would ordinarily get a nosebleed being as far forward as he was — equalised in added time with his first ever Champions League goal, at 37 years old.

The Catalan giants could barely believe what they were seeing when super-sub Davide Frattesi guided home his extra-time winner to send the home fans wild in a rollercoaster match that at times went beyond insanity as it somehow managed to be even more drama packed than the 3-3 draw the previous week.

“It’s incredible, I don’t know what to say,” Frattesi, who also scored a late winner in the quarter-final away to Bayern which proved decisive in a 4-3 aggregate win, said.

“After Munich I didn’t think I’d repeat the same emotions, tonight the incredible happened. I wasn’t given such incredible talent, but I was always the last to give up and the first to believe in it. At 3-3 I said that we would go through. I came off the bench, but it’s like I’ve played 120 minutes.”

SOMMER TIME

Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer then produced a decisive save; the 35-year-old Swiss international denying Barca teenager Lamine Yamal in the 113th minute with a fingertip stop as he flung himself high to his left to paw away a vicious, curling effort.

It is rare that a goalkeeper is named player of the match, even rarer when he has conceded three goals. But Sommer was given that honour.

“I’m very happy. It was an amazing match, and the team has gone on an extraordinary journey,” a visibly emotional Sommer told reporters. “It was a special save, one I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

If anything Tuesday’s win felt like a mark of destiny for a grand old team who have had to battle desperate financial difficulties and an enforced change of ownership just as Inzaghi has made Inter one of Europe’s pre-eminent sides.

Inzaghi risked ending the season with nothing but criticism after trying to fight on three fronts with a budget that is dwarfed by those of Europe’s other major clubs.

Inter, like the rest of cash-strapped Serie A, can no longer attract the world’s top stars so Inzaghi has had to create a team unit, a spirit that shines through on the big occasion.

Victory in Munich would be just reward for a coach who joined a club in turmoil in 2021 following the departure of both Antonio Conte and a clutch of star players, and he was close to the sack not long before Inter reached the Champions League final two years later.

“We had some problems, but with our hearts we went beyond every obstacle,” Inzaghi said. “We tried to play for it, with the weapons and the qualities we have. After the first leg we had the match plan in mind, but without sacrifice and help all together you can’t do it.”

EUROPEAN HEARTBREAK

Barca’s dreams of a treble have vanished but Hansi Flick’s brilliant young side won hearts in this season’s Champions League and re-established themselves at Europe’s top table.

Dusting themselves down from their painful elimination, Barca will take pride in knowing the club are closer than ever to ending their decade-long drought in the continent’s premier competition.

For the first time since 2019 the Catalans made the final four, but they were dreaming of more — a first Champions League trophy since 2015.

With the wizardry of Yamal, the goals of Raphinha and brains of Pedri, pulling strings in midfield, Barca have enough to end their wait for the trophy in the post-Lionel Messi era.

“We have to accept it, and we start again next season” Flick told reporters. “To win the Champions League, this is one of our goals... We will be back next season.”

Barca cannot spend long licking their wounds: they must quickly turn their attention to La Liga, where they top the table and on Sunday host rivals Real Madrid, who trail them by four points with four games to go.

Unbeaten domestically since late December, Barca will try to grab a fourth consecutive victory over Real this season and a second in less than a month after a win in extra time that earned them the Copa del Rey title.

“It’s very cruel. It’s true that the team gave everything and deserved to be in the final, but we’re young and we have to learn from this and next year we’ll give even more of a fight,” Pedri told reporters. “Now we’re hurt, but we have to focus on Real Madrid because on Sunday the league is at stake for us.”

Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2025