Inter Secures Thrilling Second Leg Draw with Bayern to Reach Champions League Semi-Finals

Inter Milan emerged victorious in a thrilling UEFA Champions League (UCL) quarter-final second leg, drawing 2-2 with Bayern Munich at the San Siro, which saw the Nerazzurri advance with a 4-3 aggregate score.

Having never lost a UCL or European Cup knockout tie after winning the initial leg away from home, the San Siro posed a formidable challenge for an injury-riddled Bayern side.

Despite their struggles, Thomas Muller made an early impact, partnering with Michael Olise to generate an array of attempts at goal, signalling Bayern’s intent from the outset.

A moment of brilliance was needed from talismanic defender Alessandro Bastoni, who executed a crucial last-gasp challenge to deny Olise. Meanwhile, Inter found opportunities as Federico Dimarco and Hakan Calhanoglu both aimed at goal, albeit without finding the target from distance.

Bayern ramped up the pressure just before half-time, with Leroy Sane and Joshua Kimmich testing Inter’s goalkeeper, Yann Sommer. However, Sommer’s saves ensured that Inter maintained a remarkable record of only conceding one first-half goal in this season’s UCL, although they only managed to hold onto that for a few minutes into the second half.

Harry Kane, who had been relatively quiet up to that point, received a pass from Leon Goretzka and, eyeing up Dimarco, unleashed a strike that found the far bottom corner out of nowhere.

Inter responded in extraordinary fashion, mirroring their performance in the first leg by striking back just minutes after Bayern’s goal. Lautaro Martinez seized upon a loose ball from a corner and smashed it into the bottom left corner.

The home crowd erupted as the Argentine became the first Inter player to find the net in five consecutive UCL matches, and moments later, they were sent into raptures again when former Bayern defender Benjamin Pavard rose high to meet a corner, thundering a header down the centre of Urbig’s net.

Just prior to Pavard’s goal, Eric Dier produced a remarkable goal-line clearance, but he quickly halved the deficit by nodding Serge Gnabry’s cross into the far corner from a tight angle.

The German side applied late pressure, waiting until stoppage time to create any real threat, but Inter remained resolute, keeping their treble dreams alive alongside an impressive 15-match unbeaten run at home in the UCL—the longest current streak in the competition.

The 2010 champions will now meet Barcelona in their quest to reach the final for the second time in three seasons, while Bayern and Kane miss out on another trophy, though the Bundesliga appears to be theirs for the taking this season.