Martinez lauds Inter suffering after edging past Bayern in quarter-finals

Lautaro Martinez lauded Inter’s ability to suffer after they progressed to the Champions League’s last four with a 2-2 second-leg draw, sealing a 4-3 aggregate victory over Bayern Munich.

Defending a 2-1 lead from the first leg, Inter were dealt the first blow as Harry Kane edged Bayern ahead in the second half, only for Martinez to equalise six minutes later.

Benjamin Pavard then headed home to double Inter’s aggregate lead to 4-2 before Eric Dier’s 76th-minute header teed up a nervy ending for Simone Inzaghi’s hosts.

Inter held on to set up a last-four meeting with Barcelona, and Martinez lavished praise on his team’s battling nature against another European giant.

“We will remember this game for a long time, Inter never give up: we have personality, heart and head,” the Argentina striker told Amazon Prime.

“We suffered, but we showed once again that we can do great things.”

Martinez’s rebounded finish made him the second Argentinian player to score in five consecutive Champions League appearances, joining Lionel Messi, who managed to do so on three separate occasions.

The Inter striker’s eight goals this campaign can only be bettered by Hernan Crespo (nine in 2002-03) in a single edition of the competition for the Serie A side.

Martinez will now aim to find the net for a sixth straight Champions League game when they meet Hansi Flick’s Barcelona in the semi-finals.

However, the 27-year-old is focused first on domestic action as Inter look to stay in the hunt for the treble, currently leading the Serie A standings by three points.

2 – Simone Inzaghi is only one of two managers in Inter’s history to have reached the semi-final in at least two different seasons in European Cup/Champions League, after Helenio Herrera (four in a row between 1963-64 and 1966-67). Route.#InterBayern #UCL pic.twitter.com/b7GjtyWgw3

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) April 16, 2025

“It will be an important tie against a great opponent, in the Champions League, they have a lot of history,” Martinez added.

“But now we focus on the championship, we have time before starting to think about them.”

Inter will fancy their chances in the last four, given they have trailed for just 10 minutes and 53 seconds in the Champions League this season, a shorter time than any other side.

That resilient defence has been key to Inter reaching the semi-finals for the second time in the last three seasons (also 2022-23), having only made the final four in two of their first 15 appearances.

Midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu, whose corner created Pavard’s goal against his former side, pinpointed Inter’s never-say-die attitude as key to their success.

“It was a wonderful evening, certainly with a lot of suffering too, but we were prepared for that, as we knew Bayern would come out fighting,” Calhanoglu told Sky Sport Italia.

“We reacted well after going behind, then defended once we went 2-1 up, but we always believed in ourselves and we are happy.”