Desperate Inter Milan fans were left pleading to get back into San Siro after leaving early before the Italian side reached the Champions League final in an extraordinary tie against Barcelona.
Davide Frattesi scored an extra time winner to give Inter a 4-3 victory on the night over Barcelona in an all-time classic.
The hosts went two goals up in the first half thanks to Lautaro Martinez and Hakan Çalhanoğlu but Barcelona appeared to have completed a remarkable turnaround with Eric García and Dani Olmo on the scoresheet before Raphinha gave the Catalans the lead in the 87th minute.
With only two minutes of stoppage time remaining, 37-year-old centre-back Francesco Acerbi dramatically smashed the ball into the roof of the net to take the tie to extra time and see San Siro erupt.
But a number of unlucky Inter fans had already raced out of the stadium and were forced to beg stewards to allow them to return with little success.
A video posted by TNT Sports on X shows a small group of fans hopelessly pleading with a steward outside the 80,000 seat stadium.
Inter fans were left pleading to get back into San Siro after leaving before the end of the game
Francesco Acerbi sparked pandemonic scenes by equalising for Inter Milan in stoppage time
The unfortunate Inter fans missed a tense end to a spectacular semi-final which saw Simone Inzhagi’s side reach the Champions League final for the second time in three seasons.
Nine minutes into extra time Fratessi sparked euphoric scenes by curling a left-footed shot into the bottom corner and climbing up a security fence to celebrate in front of the home support.
Lamine Yamal was then denied twice by Yann Sommer as the Italians held out to keep the score at 7-6 on aggregate and to reach the final in Munich.
Fans took to social media to berate Inter supporters for leaving early.
One said: ‘Missing one of the greatest games in history, no real fan would walk out at that point.’
Another added: ‘Serves them right! Jog on home and miss one of the greatest games in your clubs history.’
There were wild celebrations at San Siro after Inter Milan booked their place in the final
Fans on social media were quick to berate the unlucky Inter Milan supporters who left early
‘No sympathy, don’t let them in they deserve the consequences,’ another said.
The semi-final was the joint-highest ever in Champions League history, level with Liverpool’s 7-6 victory over Roma in 2018.
Inter lost to Manchester City in the final two years ago and will play Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain at the Allianz Arena on May 31.
The Gunners go into this semi-final second leg on the back of last week’s 1-0 loss with a final shot to salvage their season.
