Inter Milan edge Barcelona in epic semi to reach CL final

Inter Milan beat Barcelona 4-3 in extra time on Tuesday for a 7-6 aggregate success in a thrilling semi-final tie to reach the Champions League final for the second time in three seasons.

Francesco Acerbi levelled at 3-3 deep into stoppage time and substitute Davide Frattesi grabbed the winner in the 99th minute at San Siro for the Serie A champions.

Inter had led from 2-0 at half-time from Lautaro Martinez in the 21st and Hakan Calhanoglu’s penalty in stoppage time.

But like in the first leg which ended 3-3 in Spain six days ago, Barca hit back from Eric Garcia in the 54th and Dani Olmo on the hour, and they thought they had won it from Raphinha in the 88th.

Barca were denied a fourth when Lamine Yamal hit the post before Inter sensationally came back themselves for a memorable triumph.

The 13 goals are the joint highest tally in a Champions league semi-final tie, previously achieved by Liverpool and Roma in 2018.

In the final on May 31 in Munich, Inter will face Paris Saint-Germain or Arsenal, with PSG taking a 1-0 lead into their home leg on Wednesday.

Inter reached the final of Europe’s top club event for a seventh time, having lifted the trophy in 1964, 1965 and 2010, while losing the deciders in 1967, 1972 and 2023 – the latter against Manchester City.

Defeat meanwhile ended Barca’s bid for a title treble, having won the Copa del Rey and ranked top in LaLiga where they face second placed Real Madrid in a potentially title deciding Clasico on the weekend.