15 hours ago
10
Simone Inzaghi claimed that his Inter team had beaten “the best two sides in Europe” on their way to the club’s seventh European Cup final.
Inter beat Barcelona 4-3 in extra time here, and 7-6 on aggregate in a spectacular semi-final. Inzaghi’s side also put out Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals, and although the Inter heard coach was wary of the threat posed by Paris Saint-Germain or Arsenal, he was also keen to recognise the scale of their achievement so far.
“They are two great teams with two great coaches, with players that we know,” Inzaghi said of the two potential finalists. “The Champions League final is going to be a great final, whether Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain.
“But probably Bayern Munich and Barcelona were the two best teams in Europe [this season],” Inzaghi added. “We need to be proud of what we have done. This was an extremely difficult match against an opponent that had an incredibly high level.”
Trailing 3-2 in injury time, Francesco Acerbi’s equaliser took the game into extra time, where Davide Frattesi scored the winner. “Frattesi wasn’t even part of training yesterday, but he did his best with painkillers to be ready,” Inzaghi revealed after reaching his second Champions League final with Inter, having lost 1-0 to Manchester City in Istanbul two years ago.
The Italian has been managing a number of injuries during their run to the final. “[Denzel] Dumfries, Lautaro [Martínez], [Marcus] Thuram, all players who had problems in the last few weeks,” he said. “Yes, we suffered. But there is no final without a little suffering.”
The Barcelona coach, Hansi Flick, congratulated Inter on their win and promised his side would be stronger for the experience. “Tonight when they arrive home and look in the mirror, they can be very proud,” he said. “And we start again next season. To win the Champions League is one of our goals. Next season, we want to do it.”
Lautaro Martínez, who scored Inter’s opening goal on Tuesday night, told Prime Video: “I’m so happy, so proud, so grateful to fans and family. There is just one more step to go … we will do all we can to get Inter to the summit of European football.”
after newsletter promotion
The Inter keeper, Yann Sommer, was named player of the match at San Siro after making crucial saves to keep Barcelona at bay. “I am really proud of this team. We were already out, then we came back – we put everything on the pitch,” Sommer said after the game.
“We are very happy and I am looking forward to the final,” Sommer added. “PSG and Arsenal are both good teams – we’ll enjoy this win tonight and it will be easy [watching] tomorrow night from the couch. We will see.”
