Simone Inzaghi acknowledged the qualities of Inter’s potential Champions League final opponents, but claimed that his team had already beaten “the best two sides in Europe” to reach the showpiece fixture.
Inter were two minutes away from crashing out of the semi-finals before Francesco Acerbi found exactly the right time to score his first-ever Champions League goal. The 37-year-old cancer survivor darted in front of Ronald Araujo to sweep in a 93rd-minute equaliser, levelling the tie at 3-3 on the night and 6-6 on aggregate.
Davide Frattesi, who missed Monday’s training session and required painkillers to even appear as a substitute, nabbed the decisive strike in extra time to set up a final against one of Arsenal or PSG on 31 May.
“They are two great teams with two great coaches, with players that we know,” Inzaghi acknowledged after Tuesday’s dramatic triumph. “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]. 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.”
Inter earned a 4-3 aggregate victory over Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals. Another late effort from Frattesi snatched a first-leg win for the Italian giants in Bavaria before a 2-2 draw at San Siro proved to be enough to knock out the freshly crowned Bundesliga champions.
Inzaghi could be justified in his confidence ahead of a potential matchup against Arsenal after overseeing a 1-0 victory over the Gunners during the league phase. Inter have never faced PSG in a competitive fixture, although they did get the better of Luis Enrique’s side during a summer friendly two years ago.
After launching a scathing tirade against the referee, Barcelona boss Hansi Flick took time to hail Inter. “Tonight when they arrive home and look in the mirror, they can be very proud,” he noted. “And we start again next season. To win the Champions League is one of our goals. Next season, we want to do it.”
