Frattesi extra-time winner in thriller takes Inter into Champions League final

Inter Milan substitute Davide Frattesi struck an extra-time winner to send his side into the Champions League final after a barnstorming 4-3 victory over Barcelona on Tuesday.

This was after Francesco Acerbi had rescued the Italian club from the brink of elimination at the San Siro with a stunning equaliser deep in added time.

Frattesi's goal secured Inter a rip-roaring 7-6 aggregate victory in a semifinal for the ages that finished up with the Italian side reaching the Munich final where they will face either Paris St Germain or Arsenal later this month.

The first leg in Barcelona ended 3-3, then, remarkably, so did Tuesday night's second in Milan, an avalanche of goals and swinging fortunes characterising the 180 minutes plus added time of the semifinal. 

It was a tale of two halves as Inter dominated the first 45 minutes and opened a two-goal lead thanks to a Lautaro Martinez goal on the counter in the 21st minute before Hakan Calhanoglu extended the lead with a penalty right before the break.

However, Barca woke up in the second half with Eric Garcia and Dani Olmo netting within six minutes to level the scoring. Then, after Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer made a string of saves to keep the hosts alive, the Catalans thought they had scored the winner through Raphinha from close-range in the 87th.

But as Inter made a desperate run for an equaliser, Denzel Dumfries found 37-year-old Acerbi inside the box and he fired a first-time effort into the net to score his first European goal in his 20th season and take the game to extra time.

In the 99th minute, Marcus Thuram made a brilliant run from the right and played the ball into the area for Frattesi, who set himself before neatly guiding a curling shot into the bottom corner to send the delighted home fans into raptures.

Reuters