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Barcelona were beaten to the Champions League semi-final by Inter Milan in an instant semi-final classic - despite Raphinha making an astonishing piece of European history. The Barca star appeared to have sealed a stunning comeback win at the San Siro, putting his side 3-2 up on the night and 6-5 on aggregate with just minutes remaining. However, the tie went to extra time as Francesco Acerbi netted an equaliser deep into stoppage time. After a remarkable 3-3 first leg at Montjuic, part two lived up to expectations and then some with the same scoreline inside 90 minutes. Inter did what they excelled at in Spain last week with another rapid start, going 2-0 up again, this time through Lautaro Martinez and then Hakan Calhanoglu from the penalty spot. It looked like Barca were in huge trouble, but they once again stepped up after the break with Eric Garcia and then Dani Olmo levelling things up. Raphinha then thought he’d booked a final spot in Munich with his late strike, only to be denied by Acerbi. The Serie A giants won the tie in extra time thanks to a neat left-footed strike by Davide Frattesi in the first period. Lamine Yamal threatened to take the contest to penalties, but he was denied by two superb saves from Inter gloveman Yann Sommer. The Brazil international wasn’t denied an incredible piece of history, though, as his goal made it 21 contributions this season - 13 goals, eight assists. That equals Cristiano Ronaldo’s 21 from the 2013/14 season with Real Madrid, a watermark that looked like it would never be matched. Ronaldo has an argument to keep himself top, though, as he reached 21 in 11 games, while this was Raphinha’s 14th match of the season in Europe. Although that will be scant consolation for the Ballon d'Or contender with Barca suffering more European heartache, having exited the competition in similarly gut-wrenching circumstances in 2019, when they lost 4-3 on aggregate to Liverpool. In fact, Barcelona's loss to Inter is the eighth time they have been eliminated at the semi-final stage of the Champions League. It is the equal-most amount of times any team have exited the Champions League at that stage alongside Real Madrid. Not only that, Barcelona have now failed to progress to the final for the fourth time from their last five semi-final berths. Reacting to the loss on social media, Raphinha, who left the pitch in tears at full-time, wrote: "We will come back stronger. .. Thanks to everyone's support culers . .. we are still together. .. "The season ain't over yet. Every day that passes, I'm more proud to wear these colours, proud of this team. Long live Barça always. " Manager Hansi Flick then complained about the performance of referee Szymon Marciniak, claiming Inter were favoured in the tie. "I don't want to talk too much about the referee, but every decision that was 50-50 went (Inter's) way, " Flick said. "I am disappointed, but not with my team. They tried everything. It's the way it is. We are out, but next year we will try again to make the fans happy. "It makes me sad… My team did an excellent job. I don't like talking about the referee… I've told him what I think, but I'm not going to say it here what I've said. " Inter, who lost the 2023 final to Manchester City, will meet the winner of the Paris Saint-Germain vs Arsenal tie in the final at the Allianz Arena on May 31. The Parisians hold a 1-0 lead on aggregate over Arsenal thanks to Ousmane Dembele's early strike. Listen to full commentary of PSG vs Arsenal on Wednesday night, live on talk SPORT. © 2025 talk SPORT Limited

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