Barcelona UEFA Champions League semi-final against Inter Milan on May 6, 2025, at San Siro ended in a heartbreaking 4-3 defeat, giving Barcelona a 7-6 aggregate loss.
This match was a rollercoaster of emotions, as on 88 minutes, Barcelona not only wiped out a 2-0 deficit but took the lead 3-2, only for Francesco Acerbi to equalize deep into stoppage time, and additional time was still to come.
Davide Frattesi’s goal in extra time sealed Barcelona’s fate.
For Barcelona, Hakan Çalhanoglu had given Inter a 2-0 lead in the first half from a penalty that also cranked up the tension.
An incident occurred between Barcelona’s Inigo Martinez and Acerbi that required teammates to separate the two, as reported by Mundo Deportivo.
Post-match, debate broke out over the various social media angles on Inigo Martinez spitting at Acerbi during the heated exchanges.
Martinez addressed the matter: “Acerbi celebrated the goal in my ear. I got angry, yes, but I didn’t spit, if I had then it would be worse than the yellow card, and I would have been sent off.”
With regards to the officiating, Inigo Martinez had mixed feelings.
“Everyone knows the decisions went one way, but I don’t want to go down that road.”
Martinez was at least proud to leave the match, “with our head held high, and we gave everything”.
Frenkie de Jong, in an interview, also described the squad’s sadness when he called the last-minute equalizer “difficult to accept”.
He was impressed with the way they bounced back, saying, “We made another very good comeback, like we have done all season.
We had more of the ball and played the way we wanted, but they scored.”
De Jong reiterated the team’s insistence on their playing philosophy, saying, “We could have done better and dominated more, but we followed what we are doing.”
With the Champions League campaign done, Martinez and de Jong had no choice but to turn their focus to La Liga.
Martinez, reaffirming his fitness after being substituted for Ronald Araujo, stated, “We’re going all in on Madrid.”
The players’ reflections offer a glimpse into a hurting team, victim to a loss and controversial officiating, but with aspirations to take their frustrations out in the domestic title race.
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