Inter Milan defeats Barcelona, advances to final in all-time Champions League classic

Inter wound up needing both of those goals, though, because Barcelona came out in the second half hungry for revenge. It scored two unanswered goals in six minutes to level the match at 2-2. Both goals, incredibly, were created by Barcelona defender Gerard Martin. Martin entered this match as a last-minute replacement for the injured Jules Koundé, and many expected him to struggle. But Martin took to this match quickly, and his offensive contributions shifted the game firmly in Barcelona's favor in the second half. 

With the game tied and the bit firmly between its teeth, Barcelona went one goal up in the 87th minute thanks to a beautiful goal from Brazilian winger Raphinha. The strike brought Raphinha to 21 goal contributions in this Champions League season — enough to tie the record Cristiano Ronaldo set with Real Madrid back in 2013-14. 

With just three minutes remaining in regular time, the game looked sealed in Barcelona's favor. Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer had to make several mind-bending saves in order to keep the game close.

From nowhere: the breakthrough. Inter, just 90 seconds away from elimination, pulled together one final attack. Defender Francesco Acerbi found himself in the right place at the right time and poked the ball into Barcelona's net to tie the game at 3-3. Acerbi was an altogether unlikely hero for Inter: Before this match, he'd never scored a goal in European competition.

Acerbi's game-tying effort had fans in Inter's stadium chanting for a statue to be built in his honor. But it was substitute Davide Frattesi, a longtime Sassuolo player who joined Inter in 2024, who will likely get that statue in the end. The defender wandered into Barcelona's box in extra time and found himself on the receiving end of a cheeky through-ball from his teammate Mehdi Taremi. Frattesi took a moment, composed himself and sent the ball cleanly into the far corner of Barcelona's net.

“My heart was beating out of my chest, it’s really incredible,” Frattesi said, per The Athletic. “There will never be another match like that, the emotion like that. It’s crazy. My family are all here today and this is something I will tell my kids in the future.

“I don’t know (how I scored). Maybe it’s because I thought if I don’t score I’m f-----!”

In a two-legged tie full of shocking twists, Frattesi's was final and decisive. His goal earned Inter its spot in the Champions League final and capped off a game that will be remembered for generations.

Inter Milan will face either Arsenal or Paris Saint Germain in the Champions League final on Saturday, May 31 in Munich.