Importance Score: 15 / 100 🟠
Key events
In the Women’s Nations League, England are 3-1 down against Belgium – the team they beat 5-0 last week. Simon Burnton is seeing if the Lionesses can mount a comeback.
It’s 0-0 at the Emirates, where both teams have had their chances in a lively first half.
“If Thuram meant that backheel – and he’s good enough to give him the benefit of the doubt – that was a positively Gutiesque assist,” writes Kári Tulinius. Initially, I was annoyed that he didn’t just didn’t take the shot – shows what I know.
Half time: Bayern Munich 0-1 Inter
Bayern started the stronger side and should have led through Harry Kane, but after the England captain hit the post, Inter regrouped and took the lead with a brilliant team goal, finished off by Lautaro Martínez. It’s been good fun so far.
45 mins: Olise’s deep cross finds Sané stretching at the far post, and his volley back across goal is blocked by Bastoni. Bayern players appeal for handball, but the ball came off the defender’s chest.
44 mins: Bayern try to build momentum going forward but Martínez gets a boot in to clear, and the hosts have to build again. One added minute to play …
41 mins: The offside flag is up against Augusto down the left. Bayern look a bit dazed after conceding, and could use half time to settle down again.
There was a mercifully brief VAR hiccup, with a check to ensure Thuram was onside. He was, and the goal stands! Not for the first time this season, Bayern have conceded a goal from the opposition’s first shot on target.
Martínez starts the move in the centre-circle, sweeping it left before charging upfield. Augusto’s cross finds Thuram, who smartly backheels into the path of Martínez, arriving just in time – and his first-time shot flies into the top corner! Deadly.
GOAL! Bayern Munich 0-1 Inter (Martínez 37′)
And now the visitors lead! It’s a fantastic team goal, finished beautifully by Lautaro Martínez!
35 mins: Kane is tackled smartly by Mkhitaryan in midfield and Inter are able to regain the ball. They ought to be behind, but are growing into the game again now.
33 mins: It almost works again here with Barella, dropping into a Beckenbauer-esque defensive position, drills a long pass to Martínez. With Bayern’s midfield disappearing, he only has Kim to beat – but slips and sees the chance pass him by.
32 mins: That Inter move was created by a classic Inzaghi manoeuvre – his midfielders dropped back, allowing centre-back Bastoni to push upfield.
31 mins: Olise pops up on the left, but his shot is deflected safely into Sommer’s arms.
30 mins: Inter’s best chance so far! A fluid move from back to front ends with Bastoni playing in Augusto on the left, whose shot has power but lacks accuracy, crashing into the side netting.
28 mins: Inter do get through it this time, and Kim Min-jae goes into the book for clattering into Martínez on the halfway line.
27 mins: Guerreiro, usually a left wing-back, is playing alongside Kane with Sané and Olise ahead of them, creating a rectangle that Inter are really struggling to play through.
25 mins: Oooh! I can’t quite believe Harry Kane has missed here. Urbig launches a long ball to Sané, before the near-unplayable Olise dances across the edge of the area. He plays it to Kane, unmarked, and the forward curls his shot … off the outside of the post!
24 mins: Kane and Sané try to connect with an intricate one-two inside the area, but the former Manchester City man runs out of room.
22 mins: Sommer is called into action to deny Olise, with Kane unable to steer the rebound on target with his head. It causes one Bayern fan to leap up from her seat and accidentally splash her drink into her own face.
21 mins: At the other end, another Calhanoglu effort is blocked – twice in fact, with the ball pinging off Dier and then Kim.
20 mins: Bayern’s press keeps causing Inter problems, and when they get the ball the hosts are moving it quickly, with Guerreiro racing onto Olise’s pass and seeing his shot parried away by Sommer.
18 mins: Martinez gets back to help in defence, with his clearance deflecting off a Bayern leg and behind for a goal kick.
17 mins: Marcus Thuram runs at Eric Dier – not good news for Bayern fans, you might think, but the defender stands up and eventually draws the foul.
15 mins: Bayern turning up the heat on Inter, who cough up the ball in their own half. Olise picks it up and shoots from distance, Sommer getting right behind it to collect a well-hit effort.
14 mins: Sommer springs off his line to help his defenders deal with Leroy Sané, racing on to a through ball like a 400m runner.
12 mins: Kane sweeps a nice crossfield ball out to Sané, and while Inter’s defence hold firm, Bayern come again through Olise. He plays in right-back Laimer, whose cross is on Kane’s head … but he can’t get enough power on it to test Yann Sommer.
11 mins: Augusto just keeps the ball in play down the left and cuts back to Thuram, who is crowded out. An Inter throw is launched towards Martinez at the byline, and his pass back into traffic reaches Calhanoglu, whose shot from the edge of the area is blocked.
9 mins: Olise is somewhat harshly penalised for a high boot, allowing Inter to stroke the ball around in their own half awhile.
7 mins: Kimmich’s corner plops safely onto the roof of the net.
6 mins: Sané tries to burst into the box and while he is held up, Bayern move the ball quickly from Goretza to Olise, whose shot is deflected just wide of the far post.
5 mins: Olise gets into space down the right, but is brought down by Bastoni on the edge of the area. The referee waves play on.
3 mins: Dier’s weak headed clearance sees Inter pick it up again, Martinez getting on the ball before Augusto looks to play in Thuram down the left. Jonas Urbig is off his line quickly to claim it.
2 mins: Inter with more possession in these opening moments, and that will continue after Goretzka concedes a foul.
1 min: Bayern are in their cream-coloured Champions League kits, Inter in more dependable blue and black stripes.
Kick-off
The referee, Switzerland’s Sandro Scharer, gets us started.
The teams are out, lining up for the Champions League anthem. Bayern fans unfurl a giant tifo, declaring themselves – in English – “Kings of the Cup”. Real Madrid would like a word.
You might have heard that there’s another Champions League game on this evening. You can follow Arsenal v Real Madrid with the one and only Rob Smyth.
Head-to-head: These two giants first collided in the 1988-89 Uefa Cup, with Bayern overturning a 2-0 first-leg loss to go through on away goals. In the Champions League, Bayern have won four and lost two, with one draw. The biggest meeting was the 2010 Champions League final, won 2-0 by José Mourinho’s Inter side.
Both coaches are dealing with injuries – Jamal Musiala’s hamstring tear against Augsburg means he is out, along with Alphonso Davies, Kingsley Coman, Dayot Upamecano and others. Manuel Neuer is also not quite ready to return, so Jonas Urbig continues in goal. Eric Dier starts at centre-back, while Raphaël Guerreiro is preferred to Thomas Müller as an attacking midfielder behind Harry Kane.
Inter are missing Denzel Dumfries at right wing-back and Inzaghi is also without Mehdi Taremi and Joaquin Correa in attack. Alessandro Bastoni and Hakan Calhanoglu – both substituted against Parma due to fitness concerns – are able to start in Munich tonight.
Teams
Bayern Munich (4-2-3-1): Urbig; Laimer, Dier, Kim, Stanisic; Kimmich (c), Goretzka; Olise, Guerreiro, Sané; Kane.
Subs: Peretz, Klanac, Gnabry, João Palhinha, Boey, Vidovic, Müller, Kusi-Asare, Asp-Jensen, Karl.
Inter (3-5-2): Sommer; Pavard, Acerbi, Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Carlos Augusto; Lautaro Martínez (c), Thuram.
Subs: Di Gennaro, Josep Martínez, de Vrij, Arnautovic, Frattesi, Bisseck, Dimarco, De Pieri, Berenbruch, Zanchetta, Zalewski, Re Cecconi.
Referee: Sandro Scharer (Switzerland)
Preamble
After the thrills and spills of the “league phase”, the Champions League playoff and last-16 ties have churned out a more familiar pattern. Six of last season’s quarter-finalists – Dortmund, PSG, Barcelona, Arsenal, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich – have made it back to the last eight this time. The two newcomers are Aston Villa and Internazionale, and the team from Milan don’t feel like outsiders.
Since returning to the tournament in 2019, Inter have gradually found their feet, reaching the final in 2023 and running Manchester City very close in Istanbul. The aim now is to maintain their place at the top table, seeking an end to Italy’s 15-year European Cup drought. Given that they beat Bayern in the 2010 final, Munich seems a good place to take that next step, after a controlled campaign with just two goals conceded across 10 matches.
Inter’s underrated manager, Simone Inzaghi, was a striker in his playing days but has flourished as a defensive maestro in the dugout. By contrast, former centre-back Vincent Kompany wants his teams to play with the handbrake off, which might explain why he is excelling at Bayern after failing with Burnley. A sketchy campaign moved up a gear in the demolition of Leverkusen in the last 16.
Both sides may have dipped under the radar at times this season, but this is a proper heavyweight battle. Bayern and Inter have won nine European Cups between them, and sit top of their respective leagues. Two continental giants based just 250 miles apart, both with designs on lifting the trophy this year, but only one can advance. It’s on! Kick-off: 9pm local, 8pm BST.