Inter Milan edge past FC Barcelona in what turned out to be one of the greatest Champions League ties of all time

Inter Milan qualify for the Champions League final for the second time in three years. (Image credits - FMT, License Details)

FC Barcelona’s quadruple dream was shattered last night as Inter Milan managed to edge past them in a 7-goal thriller to secure a spot in the final of the UEFA Champions League for the second time in the last three years.

The initial 90+additional minutes were not enough to settle the tie as the spectacular game headed into extra time, where Davide Frattesi’s goal sealed Inter’s fate, crushing Barcelona’s dreams.

The winning goal came after a 6-goal thriller in normal time, where both sides managed to secure tremendous comebacks in order to stay in the tie, where Lamine Yamal and Yan Sommer stood out for their respective teams.

However, it was Inter Milan who eventually prevailed on the night, winning the second leg in San Siro by a scoreline of 4-3 and sealing the tie 7-6 on aggregate.

Inzaghi’s masterclass prevails over Flick’s intensity: How Inter Milan confirmed Barcelona’s exit

From the very first minute, the hosts tried to dominate the Catalan giants by countering their high intensity by pressing high up the pitch themselves in order to make the Barcelona midfielders uncomfortable during possession.

The Neuzzuri succeeded in doing so, which also resulted in the perfect start for them, with their superstar captain, Lautaro Martinez, opening the scoresheet inside 20 minutes.

The goal came as a result of Simone Inzaghi’s new approach, from a buildup which began with Federico Dimarco winning the ball high up the pitch to provide a piercing pass to Denzel Dumfries, who eventually laid it on a silver platter for Martinez.

To counter Inter Milan’s high pressure, Barcelona adopted a new approach as well, which included releasing the ball quickly and launching long passes, especially out wide to Raphinha and Lamine Yamal, who tried their best to breach the Italian giants’ defence on multiple occasions in the first half but were kept at bay thanks to Yann Sommer’s tremendous display.

In the meantime, Inter were busy testing Wojciech Szczesny with constant shots from outside of the six-yard box, with Nicolas Barella, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, and Hakan Çalhanoglu being the main architects behind these efforts.

Barca also continued their fight-back despite Inter’s continuous attacks, with Lamine Yamal looking unstoppable with his successful take-ons and crosses in the box along with multiple close attempts on goal, but weren't enough to get past the unstoppable Sommer.

Yann Sommer was adjourned as the man of the match for his heroic display. (Image credits - Heute, License Details)

However, Yamal’s efforts went into vain during the dying embers of the first half, when Pau Cubarsi gave away a penalty following a rash challenge on Lautaro Martinez inside the six-yard box, which was calmly converted by Çalhanoglu to give Inter a 2-goal advantage before the half-time mark.

In what was the need of the hour for the visitors, Hansi Flick’s men increased their high press to raise the intensity, which resulted in a goal just 10 minutes into the second half, courtesy of Eric Garcia’s sensational volley.

It didn’t take Barcelona long to add their second goal of the night and complete yet another spectacular comeback with Dani Olmo’s flying header at the hour mark, which came from a clever run from behind the Inter defence, just 5 minutes after the first goal to make it 2-2 on the night and 5-5 on aggregate.

The end-to-end looked set to enter extra time with both sides having scored two goals each, but Barcelona’s player of the season, Raphinha, had different plans as he fired them to a lead in the dying moments of the game with a clinical finish from his right foot at the 87th minute.

Just when the Catalunya fans began to smell the final, being just seconds away from the full-time whistle, Inter Milan’s veteran centre-back, Francesco Acerbi, scored at the 90+3rd minute to level the tie once again in what was arguably the craziest moment of the astonishing game.

Later, at the 99th minute, Davide Frattesi scored what turned out to be the deciding goal to seal Inter Milan’s qualification in the Champions League final while also marking the end of a brilliant campaign for Barcelona in this season’s UCL.