Inter hopes to show Bayern what real celebrations look like in Champions League quarterfinals

MILAN (AP) — Harry Kane accused Inter Milan players of celebrating "like they won the tie” after the Nerazzurri’s surprise first-leg victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals last week.

Those sentiments were echoed by Kane’s coach at Bayern, Vincent Kompany.

If Inter advances Wednesday after the second leg at San Siro, Kane and Kompany will get to see what those celebrations really look like.

“Everyone is free to say what they want,” Inter midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan said Tuesday. “We know what we did, we know we were just happy after the first game — it was not a massive celebration.

“We want to stay focused on our match, on our game, and nothing else. Because there are a lot of people who talk off the field, outside the club, and we try not to hear or listen to any of that.”

Inter heads into the game with a 2-1 lead after a thrilling match in Germany. Substitute Thomas Müller appeared to have rescued a 1-1 draw for Bayern when he canceled out Lautaro Martínez’s opener five minutes from time but Davide Frattesi scored the winner three minutes later. It was the German team’s first home defeat in the competition in almost exactly four years.

Frattesi was booked for ripping off his jersey in celebration and Bayern believes that the over-exuberance continued after the final whistle.

“I know they celebrated like they won the tie at the end, but it’s all to play for. It’s one goal and 90 minutes to play,” Bayern forward Kane said after the first leg.

The England captain was more measured Tuesday, saying emotions had been running high.

"Maybe it was just in the moment then and the emotions after of the game, maybe it felt like that a little bit,” he said when asked why he thought Inter's celebrations stood out. “I’m sure if we win tomorrow and go through, there would be a celebration for us. It’s football, it is what it is.”

Mkhitaryan and Inter coach Simone Inzaghi echoed the final part of that statement, with both reiterating several times that they were only at halftime in the two-legged quarterfinals.

Inzaghi also highlighted that Bayern is a bogey team for the Nerazzurri at home.

Inter has played Bayern four times at San Siro — losing on all four occasions and scoring just once.

“We mustn’t look at precedents, which obviously haven’t always been positive in the history of Inter against Bayern here at San Siro,” Inzaghi said.

“But the boys are mature, they know that we are playing against a really great opponent. We respect them, as we should, but with the right attitude. I think we can have a great game.”

Inter did beat Bayern in the 2010 final to clinch a treble of the Champions League, Serie A and Italian Cup — something the Nerazzurri are looking to repeat this year.

Kane backed Kim Min-jae to bounce back from a mistake in Bayern's 2-2 draw with Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

Kim misjudged a cross and let Dortmund forward Maximilian Beier score an unchallenged header, prompting speculation he could be dropped from Bayern's injury-depleted defense.

“Whenever that situation happens, it motivates you to come back and maybe prove a few people wrong,” Kane said. "I feel like Min-jae has been one of our best players throughout the whole season. He’s been playing through a few struggles physically as well and always giving his all for the team, so that’ll be no different tomorrow."

AP Sports Writer James Ellingworth in Duesseldorf, Germany, contributed to this report.

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Bayern's head coach Vincent Kompany attends a press conference at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, ahead of the Champions League quarterfinals second leg soccer match between Inter Milan and Bayern Munich on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Munich's head coach Vincent Kompany attends a training session in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, ahead of the Champions League soccer match between Inter Milan and FC Bayern Munich. (Tom Weller/dpa via AP)

Bayern's Harry Kane attends a press conference at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, ahead of the Champions League quarterfinals second leg soccer match between Inter Milan and Bayern Munich on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Munich's Harry Kane in action during a training session in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, ahead of the Champions League soccer match between Inter Milan and FC Bayern Munich. (Tom Weller/dpa via AP)

Bayern's Harry Kane reacts after missing a chance to score during the Champions League quarterfinals first leg soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and Inter Milan, at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Inter's Lautaro Martinez, center, and Nicolo Barella, right, celebrate after the Champions League quarterfinals first leg soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and Inter Milan, at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (Peter Kneffel/dpa via AP)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)