Here, we take a look at all the action from the second legs of the Semi-finals of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League.
FC Internazionale Milano 4-3 FC Barcelona (Aggregate: 7-6)
Barça went to the iconic San Siro for the second leg after a thrilling first leg at home that ended in a 3-3 draw.
This encounter followed the same script as the first one as the hosts went ahead yet again. In the 21st minute, Federico Dimarco stole the ball from the Barça midfield and played it through for Denzel Dumfries, who unselfishly teed up Lautaro Martínez for the opening goal. It was all Inter on attack in the first half as the Blaugrana struggled to find their feet and Hakan Çalhanoglu missed a massive opportunity to increase the lead.
The hosts doubled their advantage when Martínez was fouled in the box by Barcelona defender Pau Cubarsí at the cusp of half-time. Çalhanoglu made up for his earlier miss with a clinical finish into the corner from the spot-kick. By this point, it looked like the Nerazzurri had one foot in the final.
But it was the away side that came out of the blocks quickly in the second period, pushing the hosts back and looking dangerous. Barça’s hopes of a comeback were ignited when Eric García volleyed home from a Gerard Martín cross in the box in the 54th minute. Inter were then denied by Wojciech Szczesny when Nicolò Barella’s powerful strike was palmed off by the veteran Pole.
Barça showed their powers of recovery yet again by levelling the tie in the 60th minute when Martín whipped in a teasing cross into the box as Dani Olmo rushed forward to head it in.
In the 86th minute, it seemed Lamine Yamal had been fouled in the box. Initially, the decision was given as a penalty to Barça, but the VAR concluded that the initial contact had been made outside the box and changed the spot-kick to a free-kick. Yamal took the free-kick, but it deflected away from the goal off a teammate. A minute later, though, Barça were again on the attack and Raphinha gave his side the lead, scoring from the rebound after his initial effort had been parried by Yann Sommer.
It felt like Barcelona had turned the tie around in superb fashion yet again, but Inter weren’t finished yet. Defender Francesco Acerbi restored parity in stoppage time when Denzel Dumfries intercepted the ball from Martín and crossed to him—the veteran taking the game to extra-time with a sublime finish.
In the 99th minute, it was Marcus Thuram who showed strength in the box and found substitute Davide Frattesi, who stroked the ball into the far corner to invoke delirious celebrations from the home fans. Barcelona did try to mount another comeback, but Sommer kept them at bay with some fantastic saves—mostly from Yamal’s efforts. In the end, Inter managed to hold on to the 4-3 lead and made it to their second UCL final in three years.
This semi-final tie will go down in history as one of the best two-legged Champions League ties. Both sides played attractive and attacking football, with Inter winning the contest by the finest of margins. This is a great feat for Simone Inzaghi and his team, while Hansi Flick and Co now turn their focus to winning LaLiga, which they currently lead by four points with four games to go.
Paris Saint-Germain FC 2-1 Arsenal FC (Aggregate: 3-1)
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal were made to rue missed chances and defensive errors as Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germain secured a 2-1 win on the night and a 3-1 win on aggregate to book their place in the final in Munich against Inter Milan on May 31.
It was a complete role reversal at the Parc de Princes as Arsenal dominated PSG during the first 20 minutes, creating a barrage of chances. If not for Gianluigi Donnarumma’s heroics once again, PSG would have been staring down the barrel of a 2-0 deficit, the Italian shot-stopper having denied both Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Ødegaard inside the first ten minutes.
Arsenal kept piling pressure on the Parisian defence in hopes of finding a breakthrough, though a spectacular volleyed effort from Fabian Ruíz in the 27th minute broke the deadlock on the night and gave PSG the lead against the run of play. While it was an exquisite finish from the Spaniard, it could have been avoided had Declan Rice closed down his man faster.
Regardless, Arsenal kept probing amidst scares of PSG trying to hit them on the break and were fortunate on a couple of occasions as Enrique’s men fluffed their lines. The teams headed into the break with the tie 2-0 in PSG’s favour.
Arsenal tried to start the second half in a similar vein to the first, but Enrique set up his team in a more pragmatic fashion to frustrate the North London club.
Jurriën Timber pulled his header wide in the 58th minute. Six minutes later, Bukayo Saka struck one of his signature left-footed curlers, only for Donnarumma to produce another world-class fingertip save. A Thomas Partey mistake inside his own penalty box in the 72nd minute resulted in Achraf Hakimi doubling PSG’s lead on the night, giving them a 3-0 lead on aggregate.
With less than fifteen minutes remaining, though, Saka gave Arsenal fans a glimmer of hope as he pulled one goal back. Just three minutes later, the 23-year-old arguably had the biggest chance of the night with an open goal in front of him, but he skied his shot over the crossbar. With ten minutes plus added time, Arsenal were desperate. They did create chances in the last few minutes, but in vain—that missed Saka opportunity had sucked the wind out of their sail by that point.
This is just the second time PSG have reached the final of Europe’s most elite club competition, having lost the 2020 final to Hansi Flick’s Bayern Munich. Having knocked every English club out on their way to the final (barring Manchester City), Luis Enrique and his men will face an entirely different challenge against Simone Inzaghi’s Inter Milan at the Allianz Arena.
If the recent knockouts are anything to by, we’re in for a game for the ages.
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