The hero of Inter Milan’s Champions League triumph, Davide Frattesi, revealed he nearly passed out during the celebrations in a dramatic 4-3 win over Barcelona, in a tie that will go down in history.
After a breathtaking 3-3 draw in the first leg, many people thought the second leg would not be able to live up to the high expectations, but it surpassed what anyone could have predicted.
Similar to the first match, Inter saw themselves 2-0 up in the first half, with Lautaro Martinez and Hakan Çalhanoğlu on target.
Hansi Flick’s half-time team talk did wonders, however, as Barcelona replied with goals from Eric Garcia, Dani Olmo and what seemed to be a late winner from Raphinha.
Raphinha thought he had won the tie for Barcelona, with his 13th Champions League goal of the season
Reuters
The delight was short-lived, however, as veteran Italian centre-back Francesco Acerbi smashed the ball in at the near post during stoppage time, and the game finished 3-3 in the 90 minutes, as it did in the first leg.
Extra time followed, which is when Frattesi stepped up to the moment, displaying tremendous composure to delay his shot in the box before finding the corner with precision.
Despite Barcelona, and particularly Lamine Yamal, applying heavy pressure on the Inter goal for the remaining 20 minutes, it was not to be.
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And Frattesi’s effort ultimately sent the Nerazzurri through.
Frattesi had been a 79th minute substitute for former Manchester United and Arsenal star Henrikh Mkhitaryan, and celebrated in style by climbing to the top of the fence between the fans and the pitch to release a roar of emotion.
Speaking to Sky Italia, the 25-year-old said: “I was fortunate to see out the game, as I was celebrating so much I was dizzy and nearly had a blackout!
Davide Frattesi found the corner to send Inter through to the final
Reuters
“I have to thank the physios, because yesterday I had an abdominal strain, so they did incredibly work getting me fit for this match.
"It's just incredible, I don't know what to say. I thought after the Bayern Munich game I couldn't repeat that emotion, but it was even more incredible tonight. This is the beauty of football. This has been my career, really. I wasn’t blessed with incredible talent, but I am the last to give up and the first to believe, so this is a reward for effort and dedication.
“I couldn’t believe it, but once we were on 3-3, I told Marcus [Thuram] don’t worry, we’ll go through.
"I was exhausted even before I came off the bench, as we were standing up and screaming constantly, with hands in our hair at every move, so we practically played along with them!”
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Yann Sommer produced a stellar display to help send Inter through
Reuters
The matchwinner was pipped to the Man of the Match award, however, after a stunning performance by Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer despite conceding three goals on the night.
Sommer said: "It was a crazy game. I am really proud of this team and how we played.
"We were already kind of out and then we came back - amazing. We put everything on this pitch with the fans together."
The 36-year-old goalkeeper made 14 saves over the two legs. Ironically, the Swiss international was brought into the club to replace the outgoing Andre Onana for a fraction of the price.
Inter Milan will now face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain, who face off at the Parc de Princes tonight, in the final on May 31 at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
