Inter stuns Barcelona with improbable comeback to reach another Champions League final

MILAN (AP) — Inter Milan has another Champions League final to look forward to. Once the players catch their breath, that is.

In the end it took extra time, two astonishing comebacks and 13 goals to separate Barcelona and Inter and see the Italian club — which was a mere seconds away from elimination — prevail 7-6 on aggregate after winning another rollercoaster encounter 4-3 on Tuesday.

Substitute Davide Frattesi was the extra-time star for Inter, firing home in the 99th minute to leave the Barcelona players slumped to the ground while his Nerazzurri teammates — including those on the bench — were racing to celebrate with him.

“I don’t know what happened tonight. I’m lucky I managed to finish the game, I screamed so much (in celebration) that I saw everything black,” Frattesi told Italian broadcaster Sky.

Moments earlier, he'd been encouraging the already loud San Siro crowd to make more noise and the atmosphere grew more feverish after Frattesi delivered on his super-sub reputation again.

“That’s part of my career," the midfielder said. “I wasn’t given so much incredible talent, but I am always the last one to give up and the first one to believe we can do it. At 3-3, I told Marcus (Thuram) that we would go through.”

Three-time European champion Inter, which lost the 2023 final to Manchester City, will face either Paris Saint-Germain or Arsenal in Munich on May 31 for the title. PSG beat Arsenal 1-0 in London last week in their first match. The return leg is Wednesday in Paris.

Inter coach Simone Inzaghi thinks his squad has shown in wins over Barcelona in the semis and Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals that it can compete against the very best.

“My players have been extraordinary, they've put out there two monstrous performances to get to this final,” he said. "We have to continue. The final will be played against a really great team, whether it's Arsenal or PSG. Barcelona and Bayern are probably the best teams in Europe at the moment, but it will still be difficult."

There was little sign at halftime of the drama to play out. Inter was comfortably leading 2-0 after Lautaro Martínez scored and earned a penalty, which was converted by Hakan Çalhanoğlu.

But Barcelona had been in that position before, having gone 2-0 down early last week in the first leg before securing a thrilling 3-3 draw.

And Eric García scored nine minutes after the break before Dani Olmo headed in the equalizer six minutes later.

Raphina appeared to have secured the win for Barcelona when he put the Spanish club ahead two minutes before full time, tucking away the rebound after Yann Sommer had saved his initial shot.

However, 37-year-old Francesco Acerbi astonishingly leveled in stoppage time — with his first goal in European competition — to add another 30 minutes of time.

Frattesi had proved crucial off the substitutes' bench before, both for Italy and Inter, and so he was again, controlling Mehdi Taremi's pass and beating Pau Cubarsí before curling past Wojciech Szczęsny.

Barcelona almost leveled again but Sommer made a fingertip save to push Lamine Yamal's shot past his post.

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said he told his players “I know everyone is disappointed … but at the end we can be proud of our performance.”

“I’m proud of my team," he said. "We have to accept it and we start again next season.”

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Barcelona's Lamine Yamal, left, reacts after the Champions League semifinal second leg soccer match between Inter Milan and Barcelona at San Siro stadium in Milan , Italy, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

Inter Milan's head coach Simone Inzaghi, right, celebrates with Inter Milan's Francesco Acerbi at the end of the Champions League semifinal second leg soccer match between Inter Milan and Barcelona at San Siro stadium in Milan , Italy, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Inter Milan's Davide Frattesi, right, scores his side's fourth goal during the Champions League semifinal second leg soccer match between Inter Milan and Barcelona at San Siro stadium in Milan , Italy, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Inter Milan's Davide Frattesi celebrates after scoring his side's fourth goal during the Champions League semifinal second leg soccer match between Inter Milan and Barcelona at San Siro stadium in Milan , Italy, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Barcelona's Pau Cubarsi fouls Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez inside the penalty box during the Champions League semifinal second leg soccer match between Inter Milan and Barcelona at San Siro stadium in Milan , Italy, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Inter Milan's head coach Simone Inzaghi shouts at UEFA official during the Champions League semifinal second leg soccer match between Inter Milan and Barcelona at San Siro stadium in Milan , Italy, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez, right, is fouled by Barcelona's Pau Cubarsi to give away a penalty, during the Champions League semifinal second leg soccer match between Inter Milan and Barcelona at San Siro stadium in Milan , Italy, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Barcelona's Pau Cubarsi fouls Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez inside the penalty box during the Champions League semifinal second leg soccer match between Inter Milan and Barcelona at San Siro stadium in Milan , Italy, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the Champions League semifinal second leg soccer match between Inter Milan and Barcelona at San Siro stadium in Milan , Italy, Tuesday, May 6, 2025.. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

Barcelona's head coach Hansi Flick attends a press conference at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Monday, May 5, 2025, ahead of the Champions League semifinals second leg soccer match between Inter Milan and Barcelona on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Barcelone players walk onto the pitch before the Champions League semifinal second leg soccer match between Inter Milan and Barcelona at San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Inter Milan's head coach Simone Inzaghi shouts out as gives instructions from the side line during the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Barcelona and Inter Milan at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez, center top, watches from the tribune during the Serie A soccer match between Inter Milan and Hellas Verona at the San Siro Stadium, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, centre, smiles during a training at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Monday, May 5, 2025, ahead of the Champions League semifinals second leg soccer match between Inter Milan and Barcelona on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)