The first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal clash between Bayern Munich and Inter Milan was a highly intense contest, with the Serie A champions emerging victorious over the Bundesliga leaders in Munich.
Lautaro Martinez struck first for the visitors in the 38th minute, and though it appeared the Bavarians would seek a late winner when Bayern legend Thomas Muller stepped off the bench and equalized in the 85th, they were severely shaken again when Inter substitute Davide Frattesi set the final score three minutes later.
Teams
Both coaches had to deal with significant numbers of players missing through injury or suspension.
Bayern boss Vincent Kompany was without the services of goalkeeper and captain Manuel Neuer, defenders Dayot Upamecano, Alphonso Davies, Tarek Buchmann and Hiroki Ito, midfielders Jamal Musiala and Aleksandar Pavlovic, as well as winger Kingsley Coman.
In Neuer’s absence, Jonas Urbig stood between the posts. Kim Min-jae paired up with Eric Dier in the heart of defence, with Konrad Laimer on the right and Josip Stanisic on the left. Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich were in the middle of the park, with Raphael Guerreiro in a more advanced role. Michael Olise attacked from the right flank, Leroy Sane from the left, and Harry Kane led the line.
As for Simone Inzaghi in the away dugout, defender Denzel Dumfries, midfielders Kristjan Asllani, Piotr Zielinski and Valentin Carboni, as well as striker Mehdi Taremi, were out.
Former Bayern man Yann Sommer was in goal, shielded by the back three of Alessandro Bastoni, sco Acerbi and Benjamin Pavard. Hakan Calhanoglu anchored the midfield, with Nicolo Barella and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in box-to-box role, and the pair of Mateo Darmian and Carlos Augusto wide on the flanks. In attack, captain Lautaro Martinez was expectedly ed by Marcus Thuram.
Match recap
The opening stages were cagey as both sides cautiously felt each other out, but it was Michael Olise who sparked the first real moment of danger, forcing a fingertip save from Yann Sommer after cutting in from the right. Inter gradually grew into the contest, yet were unable to make the most of a couple of promising forays into the Bayern box.
The first shot on target came via a familiar source in Harry Kane, though he failed to make proper with Olise’s floated cross, allowing Sommer to gather with ease. Guerreiro then spurned the clearest opportunity of the half, found by another incisive Olise , but again the Inter goalkeeper was up to the task.
Bayern’s missed chances would prove costly, as Thuram’s clever flick just before the break teed up Lautaro Martinez, who produced a sublime finish from the edge of the area to break the deadlock.
Bayern controlled possession again after the interval, but Inter – now with a lead to protect – sat deeper and proved far harder to break down. The hosts were given a scare when only a last-ditch Goretzka tackle denied Martinez a second following a quickly-taken free kick, underlining Inter’s ruthlessness in transition.
Despite dictating the tempo, Bayern struggled to carve out clear openings, prompting coach Kompany to roll the dice with a triple substitution. Muller, Serge Gnabry and Sacha Boey were all introduced with just under 20 minutes remaining. The move paid off when Muller, the experienced poacher, popped up at the far post to tap in a Laimer cut-back and level the score.
However, Inter would have the final say. In classic counter-attacking fashion, Augusto burst down the left and squared for Frattesi, who smashed home into an empty net to give the Nerazzurri a slender but precious first-leg lead.
World-class Lautaro
While Bayern unsurprisingly enjoyed more possession and fired more shots than Inter, leaving an overall impression of narrowly being the better side in this match, Lautaro Martinez repeatedly lifted Inter level and proved his undoubtable quality over and over again.
The Argentinian forward worked extremely hard, helping his team to defend, keeping the ball under strong pressure from several opponents in the middle of the park on several occasion, creating plenty for his teammates, and getting himself on the scoresheet first with fantastically taken goal. He was involved in the winning goal as well, being the one who released Augusto down the left in the first place.
The 27-year-old appeared on the brink of leaving the club a few years ago, but now, in his prime, his contract with the Nerazzurri runs until the summer of 2029, and there can be no doubt about his place among the greatest names of this club. We’ve seen his greatness already, and there’s surely more to come.
Real-deal Olise
On the other hand, the risk Bayern took when they forked out more than €50 million to sign Olise from Crystal Palace last year seems to be paying off. The 23-year-old winger now has 13 goals and 16 assists in 43 matches across all competitions this season to his name.
If there was a player constantly gave the stable Inter defence trouble in this game, who always looked capable of making something special to happen, it was Olise. He may have had injury problems in the past, but he hasn’t had a single problem of that sort throughout 2024/25 so far and his progress, from a youthful inspiration of a mid-table team in the Premier League, to a key player for the Bundesliga leaders and Champions League contenders, is evident.
Not over yet
Inter have obviously gained a small but significant advantage, achieving a one-goal victory in the first leg away from home. The they’ll surely feel surging from the stands of San Siro next week will provide them with extra energy, likely needed very much to hold off Bayern when they come for what they feel should be theirs – a place in the semifinals.
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