Julius OkorieFresh from their triumph against Barcelona in a 7-goal thriller on Tuesday night in the Champions League 2nd leg semi-finals, Inter Milan say they will not settle for less in the final billed for May 31 in Munich, Germany.
The Simone Inzaghi led side are hitting the final again after their last show in 2023, where they lost to Manchester City. With the victory on Tuesday night in a match that nobody wanted it to end, the Serie A who will face either Arsenal of PSG in the final, warn that the war in Milan would be a child’s play compared to what will be witnessed at the Alliaz Arena on May 31.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelInter Milan’s right back, Denzel Dumfries, captured the feeling and agenda of the side after the breath-taking encounter against Barcelona. “A crazy match again. Seven goals today, it was incredible. I am very proud of the way we fought. I’m happy to go to the final and to help the team. I came back from injury so it was not easy to play two matches. Two years ago, we lost in the final, we knew everything is possible. This year, we are going to the final with the same objective.”
The ding-dong affair witnessed in Tuesday night’s semi-finals left many on the edge of their seats with neither the victor, the vanquished nor the 75,504 spectators at the venue ready to see the end of the battle.
It was a tie that drew level as the highest scoring semi-final – equal to Liverpool and Roma’s own 7-6 thriller in 2018 – and entertained again after a 3-3 draw at the Estadio Olimpico de Montjuic last week.
READ ALSO:Champions League Semis: Make Or Break Moment For Inter, Barcelona
The second leg followed a similar pattern too. Inter took a 2-0 lead in an impressive first half, with Lautaro Martinez – who had been an injury doubt until late on Tuesday finishing a fine team move.
Barcelona may have lost but for Hansi Flick it was a good fight in which his team fought really hard with the intent to win and further rubbish history books that appears to position Seria A sides as tough nuts to crack for the La liga giants. His verdict is also one of determination to return next season with added velocity.
Hansi Flick said he is proud of his Barcelona team adding that the 50-50 calls went against his team but that they ‘have to accept it’.
“I know that everybody is disappointed now. We invested a lot in this game. Personally, I’m proud of my team, who gave everything. We will be back next season to try to win the Champions League.
“When you see the atmosphere of tonight’s game, you want to come back. We have to accept the result. Inter’s strikers are strong and experienced. We have a young team and we will improve. Our job is to make this team better and better. We can improve in defence, but also in attack.
“In the second half, we played better as a team compared to the first half. This is a tough defeat, but we have to stand up. This is a message I want to give to my players. I think my players deserved the final. When they will look at themselves in the mirror tonight, they can be really proud.”
Aside from just losing and winning on the night, the game turned out to be one in which every player on the pitch desired and put in 100% performance. The playing rating was that of seven star performances with no player below six out 10.
Whoever emerges as the second finalists tonight will no doubt be in for a tough one against Inter Milan who after losing in the final two years ago are more determined to make it happen this season, whether that will happen is a matter of time.
Player Ratings:
Inter: Sommer (7), Duimfries (7), Thuram (7), Martinez (7), Acerbi (7), Calhanoglu (6), Mkhitaryan (7), Barella (7), Bisseck (6), Dimarco (6), Bastoni (6).
Subs used: Augusto (6), Darmian (6), Taremi (6), Zielinski (6), Frattesi (7), De Vrij (6).
Barcelona: Szczesny (7), Eric Garcia (6), Cubarsi (6), Inigo Martinez (7), Gerard Martin (7), De Jong (7), Pedri (6), Yamal (7), Olmo (7), Raphinha (7), Ferran Torres (6).
Subs used: Araujo (6), Lopez (6), Lewandowski (6), Delgado (6), Fort (6), Gavi (6).
How the Ding-Dong Goals Were Scored:
21st: Martinez – 1-0 (agg 4-3)
45th minute: Calhanoglu pen – 2-0 (agg 5-3)
54th minute: Garcia – 2-1 (agg 5-4)
60th minute: Olmo – 2-2 (agg 5-5)
87th minute: Raphinha – 2-3 (agg 5-6)
90+3 minute: Acerbi – 3-3 (agg 6-6)
99th minute: Frattesi – 4-3 (agg 7-6)
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
