How Inter shocked Barcelona in a historic Champions League semifinal.

After overcoming Barcelona in a thrilling semi-final, Inter Milan advanced to their second Champions League final in three years.

After winning an incredible match 7–6 on aggregate, Inter, who lost to Manchester City in the 2022 final, will try to win their fourth European Cup on May 31 against either Paris Saint-Germain or Arsenal in Munich.

After a 3-3 draw last week, Raphinha gave the visitors the lead for the first time in the semi-final, putting Barcelona just a few seconds away from their first Champions League final in a decade.

However, Davide Frattesi gave the home team a 4-3 lead in extra time, and Francesco Acerbi saved Inter deep in stoppage time to end an intense match that will be remembered for years to come.

The match matched the most goals ever scored in a Champions League semifinal. Here's how it happened, step-by-step.

Barcelona's bold press is stunned by Inter.

22 minutes: Barcelona 1-0 Inter (4-3)

Naturally, a lot of the tactical debate before to the second leg focused on Barcelona's high line and whether Hansi Flick's team could maintain such a daring strategy to advance to the Champions League final.

Although Inter dominated the first half at the San Siro, they were as bold in their strong defensive press, which was also their finest offensive strategy. Federico DiMarco's decision to focus on his defensive responsibilities in his rematch with Lamine Yamal would have been logical, but the Inter wing-back occupied advanced positions throughout the first quarter and assisted in putting pressure on Barcelona.

As Barcelona tried to play through, the Italian stole in from behind with a perfectly timed press of Dani Olmo to help set up Inter's first goal. The second wing-back, the unrelenting Denzel Dumfries, was in a forward position when DiMarco regained possession, which gave Inter the opportunity to score. He generously squared for the returning Lautaro Martinez to finish into an empty net.

Correct VAR intervention as Cubarsi pays a price

44 minutes: Barcelona 2-0 Inter (5-3)

Pau Cubarsi, the center-back for Barcelona, appeared to have won his challenge on Lautaro Martinez at first glance as he went down in the box. However, the 18-year-old had to time his challenge to perfection in the era of VAR in order to make it through the first review. and the ensuing replays showed that Cubarsi struck Martinez's foot rather than the ball when the Inter captain arrived first.

The fact that Barcelona thought Cubarsi had won the ball demonstrates how narrow the margins are; in fact, Alan Shearer and former Champions League final referee Mark Clattenburg both said on Prime Video that the challenge was fair. However, it also showed how inexperienced the young Spain defender was, especially since Barcelona was behind by one goal just before halftime.

The comeback is led by Barcelona's backup full-backs.

Barcelona 2-2 Inter in 59 minutes (5-5)

The two full-backs, who wouldn't even be in Barcelona's best lineups if everyone had been available, were the only players in the San Siro who had any chance of winning the semi-final. However, Eric Garcia and Gerard Martin, the right and left backs who were filling in for Alejandro Balde and Jules Kounde, led Barcelona to yet another incredible comeback.

In the first leg last week, Martin appeared out of depth at times, but he made two wonderful crosses with his left foot as Barcelona stunned Inter with two goals in six minutes. Garcia made a stronger connection with his first, steering his shot into the top corner.

Shortly after Garcia's point-blank attempt on Yann Sommer, Martin skillfully steered another precise cross into the box, where Dani Olmo headed in at the back post. Olmo's header came at a crucial moment because Barcelona's momentum might have been stopped by Garcia's miss seconds earlier.

Barcelona takes charge as Inter alters the key.

Inter 2-3 Barcelona (5-6) in 87 minutes

After Barcelona tied the score, the second half proceeded much like the first leg from the previous week, with Hansi Flick's team dominating possession and Inter finding it difficult to play out against their oppressive press.

Inter began to lose its hold, and a few of their moves did not help. At the 55-minute mark, Carlos Augusto took the place of Federico DiMarco, who had been winning his duel with Lamine Yamal. After playing 71 minutes after hurting his hamstring in the tie the previous week, captain Lautaro Martinez was subsequently substituted off.

By the 80th minute, Inter manager Simone Inzaghi had actually used all five replacements, as center-back Yann Aurel Bisseck and midfielders Hakan Calhanoglu and Henrikh Mkhitaryan made way. Inter lacked vigor, and Barcelona's rising confidence was unabated by Simeone's additions of Mehdi Taremi, Matteo Darmian, Piotr Zielinski, and Davide Frattesi.

Therefore, even though it gave Barcelona the lead for the first time in the match, Raphinha's goal in the 87th minute, after he had rebounded off the far post, was a long-awaited goal.

Unusual and unexplainable late drama

Inter 3-3 Barcelona (6-6) in 90+3 minutes

However, it wasn't finished yet. The semi-final took a different turn just as Lamine Yamal was about to provide the final flourish to Barcelona's comeback. It would have been settled if Yamal had struck the bottom of the near post with a low strike from the box's edge.

Inter went down the opposite end instead. With a bold outside-of-the-foot finish high into the roof of the net from the near post, Denzel Dumfries was involved once again and set up 37-year-old Inter veteran Francesco Acerbi to score just his fifth goal for the team. They had thrown Acerbi forward as a substitute striker. He really did deliver, wow.

Yamal still had a chance to advance Barcelona to the championship game, but he tried to get out from beneath his foot and shot straight at Sommer.

Marcus Thuram and new legs bolster Inter.

Barcelona 7-3, Inter 4-3, 99 minutes

In extra time, the hosts benefited from Inzaghi's early substitutions while Inter was bolstered by Acerbi's spectacular equalizer. That was made clear by Davide Frattesi's poise, who led a brilliant finish into the far corner to give Inter the lead once more after being set up by another substitute, Mehdi Taremi, who laid off calmly.

Marcus Thuram, however, played a crucial part in Inter's fourth goal of the evening after captain Martinez was injured. In order to reach the byline and square the ball to Taremi, Thuram held off Hector Fort and then Ronald Araujo, giving him the advantage over Barcelona's drastically altered back line. The rest of Inter's deadly front two put on another impressive display.

Yann Sommer's breathtaking moment was denied by Lamine Yamal.

Inter 4-3 Barcelona (7-6) in 115 minutes

Lamine Yamal's night was simply not hers. The 17-year-old nearly had another incredible moment of magic as he attempted to save Barcelona in extra time, but there should be many more.

The striker attempted to get Barcelona back into the match, like he did several times during the match, but Yann Sommer's incredible diving save prevented him from scoring a late equalizer.

At full stretch, Sommer, who would end up with 14 stops in both legs of the tie, made a fingertip save to deflect Yamal's curling attempt out of the post. Despite giving up six goals during the match, Sommer proved why he is one of the finest in the world with his crucial stop that guaranteed Inter's spot in the championship game.

Player of the match Sommer remarked, "I'm really glad I was quick enough because it's difficult to read him." One of the most significant saves of my career, without a doubt. We felt energized by it and thought we could succeed.