Did we witness the greatest Champions League semi-final ever on Tuesday night as Inter defeated Barcelona 4-3 after extra time to win 7-6 on aggregate?
Maybe. Probably. Possibly. And to borrow words from Britain’s legendary sports commentator Barry Davies, frankly, who cares? Right now, this one feels better than any of the others — a classic for the ages.
If you think we are guilty of recency bias, arrest us, lock us up and throw away the key. We will need some quiet time to recover anyway.
This tie was magnificent, dramatic, unpredictable, thrilling and at times just mad, with 13 goals, VAR checks, a teenager and a veteran 20 years his senior on the scoresheet, a monsoon and lots more in between.
So, wish us luck as we attempt to break down the key moments of Inter 4-3 Barcelona…
Previously on Inter-Barca…
The events in the first leg of this tie six days earlier deserve an article from The Athletic of their own. In fact, they got one, which is a relief, since we have neither the time nor the energy to break all that down in detail too, given the craziness of the second encounter.
Tap here for your helpful reminder of the load of sporting silliness that preceded Tuesday’s load of sporting silliness.
If you prefer to jump straight to the silliness sequel, the main things you need to remember from the first game are that Inter led 2-0 and 3-2, only for Barcelona to level twice, Lamine Yamal was magnificent for the home side, Inter’s Marcus Thuram scored the fastest goal ever in the semi-finals of the European Cup/Champions League and the visitors’ goalkeeper Yann Sommer conceded the final equaliser off his back and it ended as a 3-3 draw.
It seemed improbable that such absurdity could be repeated at San Siro in the decider. And yet, less than a week on, here we are…
The first half
After the craziness of events in Barcelona on April 30, these teams would adopt a cautious, cagey, watchful approach to the opening moments, wouldn’t they? Well, actually, Barcelona started with a sweeping ball to forward Ferran Torres in the first few seconds and his shot was blocked.
He was flagged offside belatedly but the tone was set, and we were all here for it.
So it was slightly surprising that it took 22 minutes for the teams to add to the six goals they mustered last week as Federico DiMarco dispossessed Frenkie de Jong before finding Denzel Dumfries with a clever pass, allowing his fellow Dutchman to tee up Lautaro Martinez for his second goal of the tie to add to a couple of assists.
Next, it was over to the officials to get in on the madness. Twenty six minutes: the ball strikes the arm of a prone Francisco Acerbi in his penalty area. No penalty.
Forty one minutes: Alessandro Bastoni takes the ball from Yamal inside the box, Barca want a penalty, but nothing was given.
One minute later: Pau Cubarsi slides in for a saving challenge on Lautaro Martinez in the Barcelona box, the ball changes direction and referee Szymon Marciniak waves away appeals.
Most of the stadium and millions of TV viewers applaud a fine tackle and a great decision, until the umpteenth replay shows a touch on the Inter striker before the ball and VAR Dennis Higler steps in.
In that moment, the first replay the world saw appeared to confirm what we thought we had seen with our own eyes: Cubarsi sliding in superbly to get a toe to the ball.
But the second replay proved crucial as it showed the Barcelona teenager going through Lautaro’s ankle to get to the ball.
And a couple of frames later, the same replay showed it was the Inter captain who had got his toe to the ball first.
Hakan Calhanoglu converts from the spot to give Inter a two-goal advantage and Inter are… well, furious, actually.
In the aftermath of Calhanoglu’s successful conversion from the spot, the home players made a beeline for the officials and the ill feeling continued as the teams left for half-time.
No-one was entirely sure what on earth had happened but replays that surfaced after the game appeared to show Inigo Martinez spitting in the direction of Inter’s Acerbi, who rushed to remonstrate with referee Marciniak and then the Barcelona man.
Inigo Martinez denied attempting to spit on his opponent, telling reporters after the game: “(Acerbi) celebrated in my face. It was an unnecessary reaction from me but I didn’t spit at him. It landed beside him. Otherwise, I would’ve been sent off. Without a doubt.”
Whatever happened, there was not enough evidence for VAR to get involved.
More madness. Nasty, unsettling, unwanted madness, but madness nonetheless.
The second half
For a few seconds, eight minutes after the restart, it seemed like Inter had the goal that put them out of reach, even amid the chaos of this tie.
But Acerbi’s headed finish was ruled out for offside, preventing them from taking a 3-0 lead on the night, and a minute later, the contest was alive again thanks to Eric Garcia, who was among the unlikeliest goalscorers on show.
Both he and Gerard Martin were making rare starts as back-up full-backs but combined for the first Barcelona goal — Martin’s cross, Garcia’s sublime, volleyed finish, game on.
Lightning rarely strikes twice but in this case, only because of the save of the season from Yann Sommer.
Another Martin cross, another true Garcia connection, but this time Sommer made up a remarkable amount of ground and extended his body to claw away the shot.
WHAT A SAVE FROM YANN SOMMER 😱#UCLonPrime pic.twitter.com/DCNeCMorZ2
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) May 6, 2025
Former England captain Alan Shearer, commentating on Prime Video, blamed Garcia for poor finishing. At the risk of a quarrel with a man who has written plenty of columns for The Athletic, it was a little harsh.
Martin, though, did not let the setback get him down. Three minutes later came another fine cross, a smart run and a firm header from Dani Olmo, and Barcelona were back from 2-0 down to 2-2 for the second time in less than a week.
Extra time beckoned in what was already another epic encounter, but there was still time for more.
First, Barcelona were awarded a penalty for a foul by Henrikh Mkhitaryan on Yamal, only for VAR to whisper in the referee’s ear that the foul took place outside the box. It looked like a questionable intervention.
While the foul clearly began outside the penalty area…
…replays seemed to show it continued inside, which should lead to a spot kick.
Fast forward 19 minutes and Barcelona led again thanks to Raphinha’s 13th goal in this season’s Champions League (he also has eight assists).
The goal machine malfunctioned briefly when Sommer blocked his initial effort but he would not be denied a second time, converting the rebound to leave his side three minutes from the final — well, three minutes plus stoppage time, which turned out to be a fairly crucial caveat.
Three minutes into that added time, Acerbi became the second-oldest scorer in the history of Champions League semi-finals at the age of 37.
FRANCESCO ACERBI KEEPS INTER ALIVE 😱
His first ever UEFA Champions League goal comes at a crucial moment to level the tie 6-6!#UCLonPrime pic.twitter.com/denwcUUbzb
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) May 6, 2025
The finish was superb, the shirt-off celebration was a little predictable. Extra time beckoned. Again.
Extra time
Had this tie continued entirely on trend, it would have ended 99-98 on penalties some time just before breakfast on Wednesday.
But a 99th-minute winner on top of 12 previous goals was about as much drama as most of us could handle.
The honour of ending the madness three the medium of more madness fell to Davide Frattesi, smashing home after fine centre-forward play from Thuram and Mehdi Taremi.
DAVIDE FRATTESI PUTS INTER AHEAD IN EXTRA TIME 🤯
Marcus Thuram’s excellent play in the box sets up the Italian perfectly to lead the tie 6-5!#UCLonPrime pic.twitter.com/MY4NLvtkSu
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) May 6, 2025
There was still time for a good save from Barca’s Wojciech Szczesny to thwart Frattesi and a fine save from Sommer to deny Yamal before the craziness was finally complete.
Was it the greatest last-four tie ever? Maybe. Maybe not. But on Tuesday night, as we caught our breath and two great European footballing institutions reflected on the ridiculousness of it all, it did not really matter.
(Top photo: Piero Cruciatti/AFP via Getty Images)