Inter Milan secured a dramatic 2-1 victory over Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final clash. Davide Frattesi struck the decisive goal in the 88th minute, just moments after Bayern had equalized.
Bayern substitute Thomas Mueller, who is set to leave the club after a 25-year tenure as he wasn’t offered a new contract, had brought the score level in the 85th minute.
Inter captain Lautaro Martinez had earlier put his side ahead in the 38th minute, converting a superb backheel pass from Marcus Thuram. Bayern had threatened earlier, with Harry Kane hitting the post.
Inter, who have only conceded three goals in their eleven Champions League matches this season, will host Bayern in the return leg on April 16th.
Inter coach Simone Inzaghi expressed his delight, stating, “Scoring in the 88th minute like that shows how much we wanted to keep playing our football and using the principles we’ve been relying on for almost four years now.”
The winner of this quarter-final will face either Borussia Dortmund or Barcelona in the semi-finals.
Bayern, missing key players due to injury, had opportunities in the first half through Michael Olise and Harry Kane, with Kane also hitting the post. Inter gradually grew into the game, with Carlos Augusto and Lautaro Martinez threatening before Martinez opened the scoring.
Bayern goalkeeper Jonas Urbig denied Martinez a second goal early in the second half. Bayern pushed for an equalizer, and Mueller finally found the net with five minutes remaining. However, Inter responded quickly, with Frattesi tapping in the winner to secure a late victory for the Italian side at the Allianz Arena, the venue for this year’s final.
Bayern coach Vincent Kompany acknowledged the result, saying, “It’s halftime, it’s 2-1 for Inter and we need to go to Milan to win. We have lost and we had our chances in both halves but the results are not always fair.” He added, “If you see how many chances we had against a defensive-minded Inter. Normally if we get these chances we score two or three goals. We still fully believe in our chances in Milan.”
