Inter 4-3 Barcelona (7-6 agg) : 4 talking points as Nerazzurri book place in final after hectic second leg | OneFootball

Davide Frattesi struck the all-important 13th goal in an all-time great Champions League semi-final to send Inter to Munich at Barcelona's expense.

The two teams had plenty to live up to after what they produced in Catalonia, but the second leg most certainly didn't disappoint. A contest boasting violent switches in momentum could've gone either way, and Barca were ever so close to qualifying themselves, but Inter's stoppage-time equaliser set the stage for Frattesi's winner.

Simone Inzaghi has thus led the Nerazzurri to their second Champions League final in three years, where Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain await.

How the game unfolded

The fixture which comes around infrequently but almost never disappoints served up a belter last week, with Inter undoubtedly the more content of the two teams entering the return leg after earning a 3-3 draw in Catalonia.

San Siro was never going to disappoint for such a grand occasion, and the Interisti were intent on roaring their team to Munich from the get-go. There was no lightning-fast start from the hosts as there was in Montjuic, but Inter's opening was impressively controlled. Barcelona, without both of their starting full-backs, leant on the remarkable gifts of Lamine Yamal to disrupt Inter's stubbornness, and the Spaniard's curling effort from the edge of the box was their only effort of note in the opening stages.

The Nerazzurri refused to succumb to a Barca barrage, and their own work with possession proved troublesome. The hosts' positional fluidity in the build-up and manipulation of their opponents' man-to-man pressure offered them more than a foothold, but it was their effort without the ball which led to the opening goal.

Federico Dimarco pinched possession off an unsuspecting Dani Olmo from his blindside, cleverly slipped Denzel Dumfries behind and watched on as the Dutchman squared to captain Lautaro Martinez to open the scoring.

There was a response from Hansi Flick's side, but Dani Olmo couldn't make the most of a couple of opportunities before Yamal stabbed a right-footed effort wide after a quick break. Still, Inter were firmly in control, and their masterful opening 45 minutes were rewarded further after Pau Cubarsi was penalised for his challenge on Lautaro in the Barca box following VAR intervention. As he almost always does, Hakan Calhanoglu scored from the spot to double Inter's lead.

Despite the home team's comfort, this Barcelona team have a knack, and they worked a way back into the contest ten minutes into the second half via the most unlikely of sources. Their two deputising full-backs combined to halve the deficit, with Eric Garcia finishing superbly from Gerard Martin's cross.

Then, moments later, the full-backs were at it again on the counter, but Yann Sommer pulled out one of the saves of the season to prevent Garcia from scoring his second. However, there was little the Swiss international could do to deny Olmo's header from restoring parity on the night and in the tie. Martin, yet again, was the provider.

Suddenly, Barcelona were playing the game on their terms, and Inter, so cool in the first half, started to shrink. They couldn't get out in the face of unrelenting Catalan pressure, but they just about held firm to take the contest deep. Inzaghi, who paraded down the touchline like a possessed foosball player desperate to control all levels of his team, must've thought the Nerazzurri were down and out when Raphinha completed the turnaround with just a couple of minutes remaining, but Inter, from nothing, came again.

On the brink of elimination, Inter turned to chaos, and Dumfries was the supplier again. His driven cross for not Lautaro, Marcus Thuram, or even a surging Davide Frattesi, but Francesco Acerbi was expertly converted by the Italian centre-back. Before that, Yamal had hit the post with a fierce strike, and the teenager then had a great chance to win the tie again for Barca, but his toe-poke was straight at Sommer.

To extra-time we went and Inter were the team on the up. Seizing the momentum, they scored the semi-final's record-equalling 13th goal through Frattesi following some excellent work from Thuram and Mehdi Taremi.

Barca pushed in the second half of the extended period, but Sommer was on hand to deny Yamal on several occasions to preserve's Inter's lead. His saves proved crucial, as Inter held on to prevail from a breathless semi-final.

Check out player ratings for Inter 4-3 Barcelona here.

Lautaro leaves his mark

Inter's captain recovered in time to have a huge impact in the second leg / Sports Press Photo/GettyImages

When Lautaro gingerly limped off in Catalonia last Wednesday seemingly on the brink of tears, very few would've expected him to be involved in the return leg. However, in the days leading up to the contest, optimism grew surrounding the captain's status, with a late call expected to be made regarding his inclusion after he trained with the team.

Had this not been the second leg of a Champions League semi-final, Lautaro probably wouldn't have featured, but the occasion was one El Toro deemed unmissable, and their leading goalscorer in the competition was named in Inzaghi's starting XI.

In truth, the skipper never looked particularly comfortable and looked more Lionel Messi-like than his usual indsutrious self when Inter didn't have the ball, but such conservation was necessary.

The striker is not someone who tends to take over games, but he's so often in the right place at the right time. He'd touched the ball just four times when he finished into an empty net to open the scoring, and hadn't racked up all that many more when Cubarsi crashed into his standing leg to earn Inter a penalty.

It was no surprise that 90 minutes were beyond him, but Lautaro left his mark during his 70 minutes of action. He'll hope to be at 100% for the final.

Gerard Martin's left foot

Gerard Martin proved key in Barca's fightback / Eurasia Sport Images/GettyImages

Flick has turned to several alternatives in Alejandro Balde's significant absence, and some suspected that centre-back Inigo Martinez, who finished the first leg at left-back, would get the nod in Milan.

However, the German opted to place his faith in La Masia graduate Martin, who was hauled off at half-time last week. The 23-year-old hasn't exactly proven to be ample filler of Alejandro Balde's void this term, and many would've been lamenting the full-back at half-time of the second leg.

Martin was overawed by Denzel Dumfries' physicality early on and struggled to develop any sort of rhythm with Raphinha down the left flank. Barca's collective dynamic suffered without their two starting full-backs.

Then, in 15 bizarre minutes of football, Martin evolved into Barca's answer to Trent Alexander-Arnold - fitting given who the Englishman will be joining this summer. His first assist for full-back partner Garcia was more about the finish, but Martin's cross for Olmo's header was straight out of the Liverpool star's repertoire. In between the goals, the left-back burst forward from an Inter corner and selflessly teed up Garcia for what should've been the second full-back-to-full-back combination.

This stellar Martin display came out of nowhere, and there's no doubt when we're watching back the highlights for years to come, we'll forever purr over the quality of his cross for Olmo's second while perpetually wondering who put the ball in.

"Where did he end up?"

An all-time great Champions League tie

A semi-final to remember / Anadolu/GettyImages

This semi-final had its work cut out if it was to live up to the ideological tussle between Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola from 2010. Mourinho's masterpiece remains cemented in Champions League folklore, but this bonkers two-legged affair sits alongside that classic for different reasons.

This competition has a knack for defying rational thought, and there wasn't all that much in this tie which made much sense. We've already waxed lyrical over the first leg, and it seemed as if Inter's control and grit would win out on Tuesday night against a Barca team struggling to discover their irresistible rhythm.

You'd have thought Lamine Yamal, Pedri or a fit-again Robert Lewandowski would've inspired Barca's comeback, but no, it was a pair of sporadically used full-backs who probably wouldn't have played a part if Jules Kounde or Balde were fit. Raphinha was surely the hero when he struck the third with the hosts spent - ha. Acerbi was obviously going to score his maiden Champions League goal to keep Inter alive. Didn't you read the script?

There was no time to divulge into complex tactical thought, you just had to digest all 210 minutes for what they were. Football at its very best.

Lamine Yamal: human

Yamal was thwarted by Yann Sommer on Tuesday night / Marco Luzzani/GettyImages

Barcelona's teenage superstar took over the first leg in Catalonia, and Alessandro Bastoni admitted on Monday that only a double- or triple-team would suffice in Inter's bid to slow Yamal down.

Inter, for the most part, did a pretty good job. Federico Dimarco snapped at his heels early and Bastoni made a couple of outstanding interventions to prevent the winger from weaving his magic wand. However, the hosts, in the end, were grateful for Sommer. The Nerazzurri's goalkeeper ensured this wasn't a night we remember as crucial in shaping the Spaniard's legacy.

Yamal wasn't directly involved in any of Barca's goals, but there's no denying who Barca's primary threat was throughout. He seeped through Inter's block as if he was facing defenders from Spain's third tier, but the 17-year-old was denied on multiple occasions by the underrated shot-stopper between Inter's posts (as well as the woodwork itself).

There was little wrong with the Spaniard's display, but he couldn't quite produce the finishing touch which likely would've tilted the tie in Barcelona's favour thanks to some outstanding goalkeeping.