Frattesi emotional dedication in Munich: ‘I hope she’s cheering me on up there’ | OneFootball

Davide Frattesi had an emotional dedication to make after his late goal gave Inter a Champions League victory away to Bayern Munich. ‘I hope she’s cheering me on up there.’

The midfielder came off the bench in the closing stages, after Lautaro Martinez’s opener had just been cancelled out by the Thomas Muller tap-in.

With the hosts pouring forward to turn the tie around, instead Inter struck with a well-worked move as Carlos Augusto rolled across from the left for Frattesi to bundle over the line from six yards.

He celebrated wildly, taking off his shirt and screaming to the Inter fans, but there was also a very special reason why he had to let that emotion out.

The Italy international has been struggling recently dealing with the illness and death of his beloved grandmother, which he only announced today.

Frattesi played hours after losing beloved grandmother

MUNICH, GERMANY – APRIL 08: Davide Frattesi of FC Internazionale celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Quarter Final First Leg match between FC Bayern München and FC Internazionale Milano at Fussball Arena Muenchen on April 08, 2025 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

“In my life, I always thought my mentality was my greatest strength, that nobody and nothing could affect me,” Frattesi told Sky Sport Italia.

“When I found myself dealing with this, I tried to just keep going, but it became honestly too difficult. It surprised me how hard it was. I was so close with my grandmother. I was not used to seeing her like that.

“I think she was involved in the goal tonight. Hopefully she was watching tonight and is shouting up there to cheer me on.”

Frattesi had only just posted earlier today on social media that his beloved grandmother had passed on, assuring with a picture of them during the Scudetto celebrations that “one day I will see you again and we will dance for infinity.”

MUNICH, GERMANY – APRIL 08: Davide Frattesi of FC Internazionale celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Quarter Final First Leg match between FC Bayern München and FC Internazionale Milano at Fussball Arena Muenchen on April 08, 2025 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

The goal allowed Inter to inflict the first Champions League home defeat Bayern Munich had suffered in four years, but above all puts them in the driving seat going into the second leg at San Siro on April 16.

“Even if we get criticised for the draw with Parma, which is fair, we are still fighting on three fronts and it’s not easy to be competitive in every game. Nonetheless, we are top of the Serie A table, in the Coppa Italia semi-final and got a good result tonight in the Champions League quarter-final,” added Frattesi.

“It is tough to have our level of consistency, but we’ve got to keep going and give it everything we’ve got, because this is too important.”

Check the Football Italia Player Ratings for Bayern Munich 1-2 Inter

The second leg will be inevitably different due to the advantage, with Bayern Munich pushing from the start, especially as the away goals rule no longer applies.

“They will certainly be more attacking, so it’s important that we hurt them on the counter-attack. Above all, we need to be clinical,” concluded Frattesi.