Thuram and Calhanoglu, Inter beat Feyenoord 2-1 and fly to Champions League quarter-finals against Bayern

Milan, 11 March 2025 – Mission accomplished. Inter continues its journey in Champions League qualifies for the quarter-finals by also winning the return match against Feyenoord. After the 0-2 draw in the first leg, Inzaghi's team also won at San Siro by 2-1 thanks to goals from Thuram in the opening and to the rigor of Calhanoglu in the second half, in the middle the temporary equaliser, again from the penalty spot, by Moderate. Good performance by Inter who managed the advantage accumulated in Holland well and completed a concrete and intense match, with the possibility of rounding out the spoils. Inzaghi also managed the resources by leaving Barella and Lautaro out and giving Thuram rest in the last twenty minutes, but the conditions of Frattesi who left with a muscular problem must be evaluated. In the quarterfinals, now, there will be Bayern Munich who eliminated Leverkusen.

Thuram opens, then Moder takes a penalty

Inzaghi confirms the rumours of the day before and launches Taremi in tandem with Thuram, on the wings Augusto and Dumfries, central pivot Calhanoglu. Feyenoord with Ueda centre forward supported by Moussa and Sliti. The guests try to start with aggression, but in doing so they expose themselves to the quality of the Nerazzurri which leads immediately to the first opportunity after a few minutes, with the left foot of Mkhitaryan which almost caught Wellenreuther unprepared. The Dutch came to Milan with personality and high pressing and on a recovered offensive Sliti arrives at the shot from 20 meters: central. In doing so, however, Feyenoord leaves space behind where Inter feasts and in fact Thuram, with the classic action of coming back and torpedo on the turn, opens the scoreboard at the 8th minute: 1-0 and roar of San Siro. Van Persie's team continues to be proactive and immediately tries to equalise shortly after with Good, whose left foot is blocked in front of Sommer, a sign that Feyenoord is still alive. The Nerazzurri continue to have space on the counterattack: Calhanoglu orchestrates and leads for Thuram, then assist for Taremis who from a good position is hypnotized by Wellenreuther. The Dutch do not change tactics, they attack and take risks with Inter who shows some defensive cracks especially on the left, but once again Good is blocked at the most beautiful moment. In the middle of the first half the Nerazzurri possession also goes out, with good plays but without a quality finishing for the doubling, so it is always the usual Bueno who warms his hands to Summer with a left-footed shot from afar. The pace slows down a bit in the final minutes of the first half, Inter can control the intensity, minutes and score, while Feyenoord, even though they rested during the Eredivisie weekend, does not have the right spark to reopen the accounts of a compromised qualification. A mistake is needed, and it is committed by Calhanoglu who intervenes imprudently on Moderate in the penalty area, stepping on the foot of the Feyenoord striker which leads the VAR to call the referee to the on field review: penalty. On the spot it goes Moderate who equalised the score in the 42nd minute. At half-time the score was one to one and Feyenoord still felt they could get back into the race.

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Calhanoglu closes it

The second half opens with an Inter opportunity. A long action from one side to the other until a gap is created that frees up the right foot of Thuram just over the bar. Feyenoord then hurt themselves with Moder, who made a poor control in their own area and pounced on it Taremis: contact between the legs and penalty. From eleven meters it's up to Calhanoglu who seals the hat-trick and re-establishes the gap. The Dutch immediately throw themselves forward, but expose themselves to counterattacks and the risks in Wellenreuther's area increase. Inter, for their part, must not exaggerate in their offensive projections to avoid leaving themselves open to Van Persie's team, who does not leave the game and finds a dangerous right-footed shot from the edge of Moderate that flies over the crossbar. As usual, Inzaghi starts to change around the hour mark and it's Bastoni and Asllani's turn to replace Calhanoglu and Carlos Augusto. The Albanian, who had just come on, immediately comes close to scoring directly from a corner but Wellenreuther avoids by fumbling the Olympic net. Van Persie instead opts for Carranza, the Milan killer, and Trauner, but the game now seems compromised and Inter has taken control of the situation: in the 65th minute Thuram assists Mkhitaryan, left-footed shot high. There are plenty of counterattack opportunities and Thuram revels in them. Moussa he goes in a serpentine in the area, but Sticks stops everything, so the Frenchman starts a counterattack and falls in the Dutch area after a presumed contact with Smal. The referee awards a penalty, but the replay shows that it is Thuram to simulate the VAR calls for the second time to the on field review. It all ends with a warning for the Inter player number nine, who shortly after tries to redeem himself by skipping past them all and firing a left-footed shot that hits the crossbar. Having spent his last energies, Thuram makes way for arnautovic: twenty minutes of rest in view of Bergamo. The last quarter of the match is one of control for Inter who do not need to force the pace and can navigate safely until the 90th minute, aware that Feyenoord would need three goals for extra time: an impossible feat. There is also a chance for poker. Mkhitaryan, among the best, starts it, but Pavard finishes badly high. The only problem for Inzaghi is Frattesi, who suffers a physical problem ten minutes from the end, leading to the debut of the youngster Coconuts. In the last few minutes nothing significant to report, except that the Bayern He won 0-2 in Leverkusen and will be Inter's next opponent.