Benjamin Pavard lead Inter Milan to Champions League semifinals with key goal against Bayern Munich | Football News
NEW DELHI: Inter Milan advanced to the Champions League semifinals with a 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich at San Siro on Wednesday, winning 4-3 on aggregate.
Former Bayern defender Benjamin Pavard scored his first goal for Inter against his former club, while Harry Kane, Lautaro Martinez, and Eric Dier also found the net in a thrilling quarterfinal second leg.
Inter will now face Barcelona in the semifinals, a rematch of their 2010 semifinal encounter when Inter went on to win the Champions League and secure the treble under José Mourinho.
Pavard expressed his emotions after scoring his first goal for Inter since joining from Bayern in 2023.
“There’s certainly a lot of emotions as it’s my first goal, moreover it’s at San Siro,” said Pavard, who last scored almost exactly two years ago. “So there were a lot of emotions but I had to stay in the match, I couldn’t think of the goal, I had to remain focused.”
The French defender remained optimistic about Inter’s prospects in the competition.
“We’re not putting limits on ourselves,” Pavard told broadcaster Amazon Prime. “We have a great team, we have really great players, with staff that have been working well for two years.”
The match began in challenging conditions, with wind and rain affecting play at San Siro.
Bayern created early chances, with Pavard blocking Michael Olise’s attempt and Alessandro Bastoni making a crucial tackle to deny another Olise opportunity.
Inter gradually settled into the game, with Hakan Çalhanoğlu narrowly missing the target with a long-range effort in the 33rd minute.
Bayern broke the deadlock seven minutes into the second half when Kane converted Leon Goretzka’s pass to level the quarterfinal on aggregate.
Inter responded quickly, with Martinez scoring from a corner despite an initial miscontrol, leading to passionate celebrations with the home fans.
Pavard extended Inter’s lead three minutes later, heading in another corner to put the Italian side in control.
Bayern found a late equalizer through Eric Dier’s unusual looping header from a tight angle, setting up a tense finale.
The other Champions League semifinal will see Paris Saint-Germain face Arsenal, who defeated Real Madrid 2-1 to advance 5-1 on aggregate.
Inter’s victory maintains their hopes of repeating their 2010 treble success under current manager Simone Inzaghi.
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