Barcelona coach Hansi Flick expressed frustration with the refereeing in their Champions League semi-final defeat to Inter Milan following a second-leg classic at San Siro.
Having fought back from 2-0 down at home to draw the first leg 3-3, Barca looked to have clinched their place in the final in Munich when Raphinha fired home his 13th Champions League goal of the season three minutes from the end of normal time to put Flick’s side ahead 3-2 on the night.
Lautaro Martinez’s 21st-minute opener and Hakan Calhanoglu’s penalty had earlier given Inter command, only for Eric Garcia and Dani Olmo to level the tie once more prior to Raphinha’s precise finish.
But 37-year-old centre-back Francesco Acerbi provided a stunning twist, forcing extra time with his first European goal in the 93rd minute, before Davide Frattesi finally settled an encounter that tied the record for the highest-scoring two-legged Champions League semi-final, giving Inter a 4-3 win on the night and a 7-6 aggregate triumph.
Speaking afterwards, Flick had nothing but praise for his players, though he indicted dissatisfaction with referee Szymon Marciniak.
“I’m very disappointed that we’re out – but I’m not disappointed about the performance of my team. They tried everything,” said Flick.
“We’re out, but next year we’ll start again and we’ll make our fans, the club and everyone around us happy.
“They [Inter] are a really good team, a strong team who defend well but also they have a really good striker.
“In the second half we were really good. I don’t want to speak about the referee but every 50-50 decision was for them.
“We gave everything but in the end it was like that and that’s what made me a bit sad.”
21 – Raphinha has now equalled Cristiano Ronaldo’s competition record from 2013-14 of 21 goal involvements in a single UEFA Champions League campaign (13 goals, 8 assists). Ballon. #INTBAR pic.twitter.com/fc6Sf6SbZW
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 6, 2025
Of particular contention for Barca, whose hopes of a treble came to an end with defeat at San Siro, was the penalty awarded to Inter late in the first half.
It initially looked as if Pau Cubarsi had timed his challenge on Martinez perfectly to stop an Inter break down the left, but Marciniak pointed to the spot after a pitchside review, with replays suggesting Cubarsi made no contact with the ball.
Garcia took issue with that decision, telling Prime Video Sport: “For me, the first one Curbasi, I was really close, for me it is never a pen.
“I think in the first half going 2-0 down was tough. The reaction we had in the second half was amazing.
“We had even more chances to close the game.
“It is from decisions made, but that is football and we need to be really proud of what we did.”
Barca still have work to do to complete a LaLiga and Copa del Rey double. They are four points ahead of Real Madrid in LaLiga with four games to play, and can all but seal the title with a home win in the Clasico on Sunday.
“We have got to get going, we need to be proud,” Garcia added.
“Nobody believed in us at the beginning [of the season]. A lot of changes and changing the manager, really young players and we need to be proud.”
