In a crazy football evening at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, Inter Milan of Italy secured a spot in the 2025 UEFA Champions League final after a thrilling victory over Barcelona of Spain with a score of 4-3 in the second leg of the semi-finals, sealing the qualification with an aggregate score of 7-6, following a 3-3 draw in the first leg at the Montjuic Stadium.
Inter started the match confidently, taking advantage of the home ground and the crowd, and managed to open the scoring early through their captain Lautaro Martinez in the 21st minute, benefiting from a fatal mistake in the Catalan defense.
By the end of the first half, the Turkish player Hakan Calhanoglu extended the lead from the penalty spot in the 45+2 minute, sending the Nerazzurri ahead by two goals.
However, Barcelona came back strongly in the second half, starting their comeback with a goal from defender Eric Garcia in the 54th minute, followed by an equalizer from Dani Olmo in the 60th minute, before Raphinha ignited the atmosphere with a third goal in the 87th minute, putting Barcelona in a qualifying position. Veteran defender Francisco Atchirbe then appeared in the 93rd minute, scoring the equalizer, leading the two teams to extra time after the original time ended 3-3.
In the first half of extra time, Inter sealed the match with a decisive goal by substitute David Frattesi in the 99th minute, taking advantage of Barcelona's defensive lapses, and securing their first European final since 2010 when they won the title under Jose Mourinho's leadership.
Inter Milan lined up with Jan Sommer in goal, a defensive trio of Bastoni, Atchirbe, and Bastoni, a midfield consisting of Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, and Dimarco, with the attacking duo of Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram.
On the other hand, Barcelona fielded a different lineup led by goalkeeper Ter Stegen, with a defensive line of Eric Garcia, Gerard Martin, Pau Cucurella, and Inigo Martinez, a midfield trio of Pedri, Frenkie de Jong, and Dani Olmo, and an attacking trio of Yarmolenko, Ferran Torres, and Raphinha.
With this victory, Inter became the first team to reach the highly anticipated final on May 31 at the Allianz Arena in Munich, awaiting the winner of Wednesday's match between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal, with the French team leading by a single goal from the first leg.