After a gripping two-legged battle, Barcelona ultimately fell short in a 7-6 aggregate loss, with the second leg at San Siro extending into extra time. ..Continue Reading
The Spanish side had briefly taken a 6-5 lead in Milan, only for veteran defender Francesco Acerbi to level the match with a crucial 93rd-minute strike.
In extra time, Davide Frattesi netted in the 99th minute, sealing Inter’s place in the final under Simone Inzaghi.
Barcelona had entered the match with confidence despite their 3-3 draw in Spain, and they showed resilience by overturning a two-goal deficit in the second leg, coming within minutes of advancing.
However, their European journey ended in disappointment, and Hansi Flick’s squad must now turn their attention to securing the La Liga title amid lingering controversy.
Midfielder Pedri criticized referee Szymon Marciniak’s officiating, expressing confusion over certain decisions, including the referee’s choice not to issue a second yellow card to Henrikh Mkhitaryan for his challenge on Lamine Yamal just outside the penalty area.
Marciniak initially awarded Barcelona a penalty for the incident, but VAR intervened, leading to the decision being downgraded to a free-kick.
Former FIFA referee Rafal Rostkowski later weighed in, arguing that the VAR official had made mistakes in both awarding the penalty instead of a free-kick and failing to invite Marciniak to review the incident on the pitchside monitor.
He told SPORT: “Szymon Marciniak was right to award a penalty, but the VAR referee dissuaded him from doing so.”
Now, Gavi has shared his own ‘conspiracy theory’ about the Inter Milan result.
Taking to Instagram, he wrote: “It’s very hard, and even more so when you know how close we were, culers [Barca fans].
“They didn’t want us to reach the final because they were afraid of the season we’re having.”
The ‘they’ Gavi is referring to isn’t clear. The 20-year-old midfielder emerged as a substitute in the second half of extra time at San Siro.
