‘This is why we love football’: Thierry Henry breaks down Inter and Barcelona’s breathtaking UCL semis

Barcelona and Inter brought the magic in a 4-3 Inter victory in extra time (7-6 on aggregated) to book their place in the Champions League final. With 13 goals over the two legs, this has been the joint highest scoring UCL-HALVE Final ever, in addition to the collision of 2017-18 between Roma and Liverpool. With comebacks with two goals in both tires and a late late equalizer from Francesco Acerbi in the second stage, as CBS sports analyst Thierry Henry said: “Nights like these are why we love football.”

Even only focused on the second stage between the two teams, there was enough to make a film. Inter took place for 20 minutes in the game with Denzel Dumfries who found Lautaro Martinez to beat Barcelona’s offside before Barca admitted a penalty just by half that Hakan Calhanoglu slid home for a lead of two goals. But just like in the first stage, the men of Hansi Flick were able to fight back with Eric Garcia and Dani Olmo who both scored half after half.

It felt like Raphinha won the game for Barcelona and scored in the 87th minute, but Acerbi immediately hit back to bring the level and forcing extra time. The only thing that could be seen was a sea of ​​limbs at San Siro when Davide Fratesi stopped the ball at the back of the net to push Inter in extra time forward, because a home crowd witnessed their team, made a second UCL final since 2022. It was an emotional affair for everyone, and Henry broke why.

“I have been watching football, bored for the past one or two years. So, thank you, inter and thanks, Barcelona,” said Henry. “Tonight, that’s why I love football, that’s why we all love football, this is what we want to see. We want to see teams go to each other, be open, play, play. What we have seen and Alessandro [Del Piero] Said at home and away, usually you have a team with a good game, then you have a comeback. ”

“We have seen the same game. Come on, Raphinha, you think you won it, Acerbi has brought his team back to the game and Lamine Yamal can win it at the end, and he won’t, but again, I will say, thank you, this is why we love football. Thank you. [Simone] Inzaghi, thanks, film, thank you, everyone who was involved in this game, because I recently bored games. “

The unwritten character of semi -finals and competitions such as these, where teams leave everything they have on the field, can make some football beautiful. Even players who doubted the game, such as Robert Lewandowski and Martinez, had parts to play before it was all said and done. If you can make the UCL final, no stone can remain undisturbed and Inter and Barcelona have tried everything they could.

“If you look back on history, the semi -final of the Champions League is one of the most entertaining and high quality of the games that you will ever see in football and this is exactly there and not there, this is perhaps one of the best, if not the best in the Champions League era,” said CBS -sports analyst Jamie Carragher.

“It was so good, both tires and that man there [Yamal] It does not deserve to be on the losing side. Nobody deserves to be on the losing side, but especially when you consider how young he was. He was fantastic in both feet, and he was the man who almost won for Barcelona in the normal time and almost got Barcelona back into the game at the end of extra time. The man is an absolute superstar, and one shade of sorrow is that when we are in Munich [for the Champions League final]We will not keep an eye on Yamal. “

While Yamal will not be in the final, at the age of 17 and simply presented in his 102nd game for Barcelona, ​​he will return to this stage and there is enough time for him to make a final while he establishes himself as one of the best players in football. Inter’s Equalizer came from Acerbi, who is 20 years older than Yamal, but goals can get anywhere in the beautiful game, and this draw had it all.

This is a two -legged battle that will not fade in the near future, and it was a suitable collision between two of the best sides in football at the moment. Barcelona may have seen their high hope in flames on the hands of Inter, but that is why a Treble is one of the most difficult performance to achieve in football. Because Int was already lost in the Coppa Italia and Series A would also see them slip, the Champions League is their chance of Glory, and they played like that. Now they are one of the last two teams who get the chance to win it all.

You can watch the Champions League final on Saturday 31 May Paramount+.