It is hard to recall a more entertaining Champions League tie than Inter’s epic 7-6 win over Barcelona in the semi-finals this season.
After a 3-3 draw in the Catalan capital last week, the two teams played out another epic encounter in Milan on Tuesday.
As in the first match, Inter went two goals up, but found themselves pegged back once again. And just like last week, it finished 3-3 after 90 minutes. This time, though, the Serie A leaders came out on top in extra time in an extraordinary aggregate win which is being hailed as the most entertaining tie of all time.
You may like
Here, a look at how the teams’ semi-final series compares to some of the other highest-scoring ties in the Champions League over the years…
Real Madrid 6-5 Manchester United (Quarter-finals, 2002/03)
Real Madrid and Manchester United played out a classic tie in the quarter-finals of the Champions League in 2002/03, with the second leg at Old Trafford particularly memorable.
After Madrid won the first match 3-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu, David Beckham came off the bench to score twice for United in a 4-3 win for United in Manchester, but Ronaldo’s superb hat-trick sealed a 6-5 aggregate victory for Los Blancos.
Chelsea 6-5 Bayern Munich (Quarter-finals, 2004/05)
Chelsea never did win the Champions League under José Mourinho, but the Blues had some memorable victories in the competition during the Portuguese manager’s time at Stamford Bridge.
Those included a 6-5 aggregate win over Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals in 2004/05 as Chelsea won 4-2 at Stamford Bridge and scraped through to the semi-finals after a 3-2 defeat in Germany.
Manchester United 8-3 Roma (Quarter-finals, 2006/07)
Beaten 2-1 by Roma in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final in 2006/07, Manchester United turned the tie around with an amazing performance in the second match at Old Trafford.
Michael Carrick and Cristiano Ronaldo both scored twice, with Alan Smith, Wayne Rooney and Patrice Evra also on target in an incredible 7-1 win which saw United seal and 8-3 aggregate victory.
Real Madrid 9-2 Schalke (Round of 16, 2013/14)
Real Madrid won their 10th European Cup, La Décima, in 2013/14 and Los Blancos battered Schalke en route to the title.
Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo scored two apiece as Madrid thrashed Schalke 6-1 in the first leg in Germany, with the Portuguese on target twice in the return to seal a 3-1 win at the Santiago Bernabéu and a 9-2 aggregate victory for Carlo Ancelotti’s side in the round of 16.
Bayern Munich 7-4 Porto (Quarter-finals, 2014/15)
Bayern Munich reached the Champions League semi-finals in 2014/15 and the Bavarians advanced to the last four after a 7-4 aggregate win over Porto.
Beaten 3-1 by the Portuguese champions at the Estádio do Dragão in the first match, Pep Guardiola’s side stormed to a 6-1 win at the Allianz Arena in the second leg, with Robert Lewandowski on target twice.
Barcelona 6-5 Paris Saint-Germain (Round of 16, 2016/17)
Barcelona looked down and out after a 4-0 loss at Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with the French champions in 2016/17.
But Luis Enrique’s side turned the tie around with an extraordinary display in the second leg, winning 6-1 at Camp Nou with Neymar scoring twice and setting up a dramatic late winner for Sergi Roberto to seal a 6-5 aggregate win in added time.
Real Madrid 6-5 Manchester City (Semi-finals, 2021/22)
Real Madrid produced a series of epic comebacks in the knockout rounds of the Champions League in 2021/22 before beating Liverpool in the final to win a 14th European Cup.
Trailing 5-3 against Manchester City in the final minute of the sides’ semi-final tie, Los Blancos looked down and out, but Rodrygo struck twice in quick succession to force extra time and Karim Benzema was on target five minutes into the additional period to seal an incredible victory.
Lyon 10-2 Werder Bremen (Round of 16, 2004/05)
Lyon thrashed Werder Bremen 10-2 on aggregate in the last 16 of the Champions League in the 2004/05 season.
After an impressive 3-0 win in the first leg in Germany, Lyon followed up that success with an amazing 7-2 victory at home in the second match as Sylvain Wiltord hit a hat-trick and Michael Essien scored twice for the French champions at the Stade de Gerland.
Chelsea 7-5 Liverpool (Quarter-finals, 2008/09)
Chelsea reached the Champions League semi-finals in 2008/09 and the Blues were only denied a place in the final by Andrés Iniesta’s strike in added time at Stamford Bridge.
In the quarter-finals, Guus Hiddink’s side beat Liverpool 3-1 at Anfield and advanced to the last four as Frank Lampard struck twice in a 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge to seal a 7-5 aggregate victory.
Barcelona 10-2 Bayer Leverkusen (Round of 16, 2011/12)
Lionel Messi became the first player to score five goals in a knockout match in the Champions League as Barcelona thrashed Bayer Leverkusen 7-1 at Camp Nou in the round of 16 in March 2012.
Three weeks earlier, Messi was also on target in the first leg as Barça won 3-1. After a 10-2 aggregate victory, the Blaugrana went on to reach the semi-finals, ultimately losing out to eventual winners Chelsea.
Monaco* 6-6 Manchester City (Round of 16, 2016/17)
Manchester City were beaten on away goals by Monaco in a thrilling tie in the last 16 of the Champions League in 2016/17.
Beaten 5-3 by Pep Guardiola’s side at the Etihad, Monaco made those away goals count with a 3-1 win in the second leg at home to advance to the quarter-finals after a 6-6 draw across two matches.
Bayern Munich 10-2 Arsenal (Round of 16, 2016/17)
Bayern Munich beat Arsenal 5-1 at home and away to seal a 10-2 aggregate win over the Gunners in the last 16 of the Champions League in 2016/17.
The Bavarians scored four second-half goals in the first match in Munich, which was poised at 1-1 after 45 minutes. And the visitors went behind in the return leg in north London, netting all five of their goals after Laurent Koscielny’s red card eight minutes into the second half.
Manchester City 10-2 Schalke (Round of 16, 2018/19)
Before losing to Tottenham in an epic quarter-final tie in 2018/19, Manchester United flew past Schalke in the last 16.
Pep Guardiola’s side won 3-2 in the first match in Germany thanks to late goals from Leroy Sané and Raheem Sterling, before blowing away the Bundesliga side in an amazing 7-0 victory in the second leg at the Etihad as Sergio Agüero scored twice.
Atalanta 8-4 Valencia (Round of 16, 2019/20)
Atalanta thrashed Valencia 4-1 in the first leg of the teams’ Champions League last-16 tie, which was played at the San Siro in February 2020.
By the time the return came around, no fans were allowed in at Mestalla due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Atalanta followed up their first-leg win with a 4-3 victory in Valencia as Josip Iličić netted all four goals to seal an 8-4 aggregate success for the Serie A side.
Arsenal 9-3 PSV Eindhoven (Round of 16, 2024/25)
Arsenal stormed past PSV Eindhoven in the last 16 of the Champions League in 202425, beating the Dutch side 9-3 on aggregate.
And most of the hard work was done in the first leg as the Gunners came away with a 7-1 win in the Netherlands as Martin Ødegaard netted twice and six players scored in total. The second match in north London finished 2-2.
Bayern Munich 12-1 Sporting CP (Round of 16, 2008/09)
The first Champions League tie to feature 13 goals across two legs was Bayern Munich’s last-16 series with Sporting CP in February and March 2009.
After a 5-0 victory in the first match in Lisbon, Bayern battered Sporting 7-1 in the return in Germany to seal a huge 12-1 aggregate win and advance to the quarter-finals. In the last eight, Bayern were beaten 5-1 by eventual champions Barcelona over two legs.
Liverpool 7-6 Roma (Semi-finals, 2017/18)
Seven years before Inter’s 7-6 win over Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals, Liverpool beat Roma by the same scoreline in the last four of the competition.
Although close in the end, the Reds won the first leg 5-2 at Anfield and were 6-2 and 7-3 ahead on aggregate during the second match in Rome. Radja Nainggolan scored in the 86th and 94th minutes to give Roma a 4-2 win in the return, but Liverpool advanced to the final.
Inter 7-6 Barcelona (Semi-finals, 2024/25)
Inter’s 7-6 win over Barcelona in the semi-finals in 2024/25 is not only the joint-highest scoring two-legged tie in Champions League history, but surely the most entertaining one as well.
After a thrilling 3-3 draw in the first leg at Montjuïc in which Inter led 2-0 and 3-2, the second leg finished in the same scoreline after 90 minutes, with the Italians 2-0 up and then 3-2 down close to the end before a late leveller through Francesco Acerbi and then a Davide Frattesi effort in extra time to seal a 4-3 win on the night and 7-6 aggregate victory. Breathtaking.
