BAYERN Munich will go into the second leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final at the San Siro chasing a deficit after losing 2-1 at home in the first leg on Tuesday.
The opening exchanges were cautious, with both sides looking to figure each other out.
Michael Olise came closest to finding a way through early on, when he forced a fingertip save from Yann Sommer after cutting in from the right.
Inter then came into the game, but couldn’t capitalise on a couple of forays into the Bayern box. The first effort on target from either side came from a usual suspect, Harry Kane; he couldn’t make the most of a floated Olise cross, however, and Sommer gathered comfortably.
Raphaël Guerreiro then had the clearest chance of the half up until that point, when an incisive Olise pass gave him a clear sight of goal, but once again, Sommer did well to save. Vincent Kompany’s side were then left ruing their missed chances shortly before the break, as Lautaro Martínez’s exquisite finish from the edge of the area opened the scoring, after a wonderful flicked assist from Marcus Thuram.
Like much of the first 45, Bayern had the majority of the ball early on in the second. Inter now had a lead to protect though, and were much more difficult to unlock.
A last-ditch Leon Goretzka tackle stopped Martínez from doubling his and Inter’s tally from a quick free-kick, as the Italian side served a reminder of how clinical they can be.
Bayern soon regained control, but couldn’t create a clear-cut chance for all their probing. Bayern made a triple change with just under 20 minutes left, which saw Thomas Müller, Serge Gnabry and Sacha Boey come on as they looked for a solution to their Nerazzuri problem.
Just as it looked like Bayern had hit a black and blue wall, Müller turned up, adding to his extensive collection of Bayern goals as he tapped home a Laimer cross from the byline at the far post.
It wasn’t to be a poetic ending however, as an Inter counter-attack ended with Carlos Augusto squaring for Davide Frattesi to slam home into an empty net and give the Italian side a narrow advantage going into next week’s second leg.
Match stats
Bayern are six-time Champions League winners. They’re bidding to reach their 10th final and second on home soil.
Kane has scored 10 goals in the Champions League this season, the most by an English player in a single campaign.
Musiala has seven-goal involvements in this season’s competition – the same tally as Michael Olise.
Bayern have won four of seven Champions League previous meetings with Inter (D1, L2), including home and away 2-0 victories in the 2022/23 group stage.
Pavard was part of the Bayern team that won the 2019/20 Champions League under Hansi Flick, while Sommer lifted the Bundesliga title with the record champions in 2022/23.
Inter have won three Champions League titles, most recently beating a Bayern side that included Müller 2-0 in the 2009/10 final.
