Key events
33 min: Inter’s Calhanoglu just flashes one of his trademark long rangers past the Bayern post! Phwoar, that was close. The German-born Turkish international really knows how to strike a ball, who remembers this silly strike from his Hamburg days?
31 min: Müller is comfortably Bayern’s best player. The 35-year-old is picking up some lovely positions in pockets of space and always seems to play the right pass.
28 min: Di Marco whips the resulting free-kick across the face of Bayern’s goal, Acerbi flicks it on and Thuram stretches at the far post, with the ball just beyond the Frenchman and just wide of the Bayern’s post!
27 min: Kim is having a torrid time against Thuram and their latest clash results in a yellow card for the Bayern centre-back. Inter have a dangerous free-kick wide left. Up come the cavalry.
24 min: Di Marco briefly switches flanks and leads another Inter counter attack. Bayern furiously backpedal but are grateful as Dimarco opts not to hook a cross in towards Thuram, but recycle the possession.
21 min: Bastoni, a centre-back remember, canters up from the back and his deflected strike goes high and wide over Bayern’s bar. Inter’s fans have found their voice. It’s absolutely deafening as Calhanoglu goes to take the corner. Cleared by Kim.
19 min: Martínez turns past Kimmich and Goretzka in midfield and releases Dimarco down the left. Thuram sprints into the box but the cross is wild from Dimarco, blown back towards the half-way line by the wind! Wow. Struggling to think of a match so affected by blustery conditions, especially in such a stadium as San Siro!
17 min: It’s VERY windy inside San Siro. Players are struggling to judge the aerial balls, which is swirling around in the stadium along with Simone Inzaghi’s flowing locks.
16 min: After that strong opening claim, there have been a few awkward touches from Bayern’s keeper Urbig. The 21-year-old has both booted the ball straight out of play and put his centre-backs under enormous pressure with a loose pass.
14 min: Bayern’s fans up in the away end, behind that perspex screen, are making all of the noise here. It’s been a nervy start from Inter, and the home crowd – largely silent – know it.
12 min: Sensational tackle by Bastoni to deny Olise a golden chance! Barella had his pocket picked in midfield, Muller lofted a brilliant pass over Inter’s defence. Olise took the ball in his stride, one on one with Sommer, but Bastoni came from nowhere to make a last-ditch tackle from behind. The Italian had to judge that to perfection inside Inter’s area, and he did just that. Olise looks utterly bemused as to how Bastoni has reached that, it was surely a goal otherwise.
11 min: The game is going as expected. Bayern are dominating the ball, 66% possession in the first 10 minutes here, but Inter are standing firm – they have conceded just three goals in the Champions League this season – and carry their customary threat on the counter-attack.
9 min: Thuram looks to have the better of Bayern’s Kim, who loses the Frenchman in a flowing Inter move at the end of which, Dimarco stings Urbig’s palms.
8 min: Couple of tasty challenges in midfield, with Goretzka late on Thuram. The home crowd whistle for a yellow card, but referee Slavko Vincic is unmoved.
5 min: Barella was injured in the lead up to that chance, the Italian midfielder hobbles off the pitch to receive treatment. I think he’s going to be OK to continue, but he’s moving pretty gingerly.
4 min: Magnificent block from Pavard to deny Olise! Müller set up the former Crystal Palace man with a deft flick in Inter’s area, but Darmian flung himself into the path of Olise’s shot, just as the Frenchman was bending one of his textbook curlers low into the far corner.
2 min: Bayern’s are pressing absurdly high, and forcing Inter’s full-backs to go long. But the third hopeful ball forward finds Thuram, whose neat flick helps to release Darmian down Inter’s right. The ball is crossed low and after a nervy dalliance in Bayern’s defence, Urbig surges forward to collect the ball impressively. That will do the young keeper a world of good.
Peeeeeeeeeep!
We are off at San Siro.
Just a couple of minutes to go! The teams are out! Inter in their famous blue and black, Thomas Müller leads Bayern out in a changed white strip, with red trim.
“THE CHAMPIONS!” belt out the Inter fans at the conclusion of the Champions League anthem. Woof.
Here are the highlights from the first leg. They are worth rewatching for a) Harry Kane’s first-half miss b) Lautaro Martínez finishing off a sensational team goal for Inter’s first c) Frattesi’s celebration.
How Bayern would love Yann Sommer back. The Swiss was sold to Inter in 2023 for just €6.75m, which is ludicrously cheap, even for a keeper in his mid-thirties. Sommer is 36 now, but remains one of the best stoppers in Europe. Bayern, meanwhile, are Neuer-less after the German sustained an injury in the last-16 tie with Bayer Leverkusen. Jonas Urbig starts tonight for the Bundesliga side.
There is another game going on tonight, just in case you didn’t know.
Wait … there are two! Alas, all matches are not created equal.
Team news!
Internazionale: Sommer; Pavard, Acerbi, Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Lautaro Martinez, Thuram.
Subs: Di Gennaro, Josep Martinez, De Vrij, Arnautovic, Frattesi, Asllani, Carlos Augusto, Bisseck, Berenbruch, Cocchi, Zalewski, Taremi.
Inter are more or less as expected. Their only change from the starting XI in the first leg is Dimarco back in for Carlos Augusto.
Bayern Munich (4-2-3-1): Urbig; Laimer, Kim, Dier, Stanisic; Goretzka, Kimmich; Olise, Muller, Sane; Kane.
Subs: Peretz, Klanac, Gnabry, Coman, Joao Palhinha, Guerreiro, Boey, Vidovic, Kusi-Asare, Pavlovic, Karl.
Fresh from his goal in the first leg and his assist at the weekend, Müller starts! The German equals Lionel Messi’s Champions League appearances (163) with the start tonight, only Iker Casillas and Cristiano Ronaldo now have more.
Referee: Slavko Vincic
After Inter ended Bayern’s 22-match unbeaten home run in the first leg, Inter now hold the longest unbeaten home record (14 games) in the competition. That said, Bayern have won all four of their away games against Inter in European competition, including all three in the Champions League without conceding a single goal (2-0 in 2006, 1-0 in 2011 and 2-0 in 2022).
Inter will be wary of complacency, given they exited last-season’s Champions League in the round-of-16 to Atlético, despite taking a one-goal lead into the second leg.
The team news will be out in around 20 minutes, so let’s delve into a bit of pre-match reading.
Andy Brassell wrote this on Monday after Bayern’s 2-2 draw with Dortmund in Der Klassiker at the weekend. Not ideal preparation for this one, then, with Harry Kane particularly out of sorts.
Delving a bit further into the archives, we have this piece from Richard Hall on the late, great Andreas Brehme, who served both Inter and Bayern with distinction.
And speaking of legendary players that shone in both the red of Bayern and the black and blue of Inter, here’s my 2019 interview with Lothar Matthäus.
Preamble
In an age of steel and glass stadia, San Siro remains arguably the most iconic cathedral of football left on the continent. Internazionale and Bayern are fitting giants of Europe, nine European Cups between them. And while you might be tempted to check if Real Madrid have got the crucial, early goal to get Arsenal hearts a fluttering, the real action is here. This is a quarter-final on a knife-edge – Inter leading 2-1 from the first leg. Bayern – who won the Champions League final here in 2001 – are not likely to roll over.
These Champions League nights in Milan are special, just ask the locals. They go absolutely potty for the pre-match anthem around these parts and tonight will be no different. The winner of this tie will earn a semi-final with Barcelona. It really doesn’t get much bigger than this.
Here’s what Bayern manager, Vincent Kompany, had to say in the lead up to tonight.
There’s big anticipation for this game; it feels right. It’s the best team in Italy against the best team in Germany at the moment. The stadiums are also among the best there are. It doesn’t get much bigger than this. The quality and talent are there, too. The important thing is that we bring our best performance. Hopefully, we can experience a very special night for our fans, too.
Kick-off: 8pm BST
