Milan, May 7 (HS): Barcelona’s dream of reaching the Champions League final was shattered after a 4-3 loss to Inter Milan at San Siro. Barcelona’s manager Hansi Flick expressed his displeasure with several referee decisions during the match.

After falling behind by two goals, Barcelona made a strong comeback and took a 3-2 lead with a goal from Raphinha in the 87th minute. However, during injury time, Inter’s Francesco Acerbi scored to send the match into extra time. Then, the home team’s substitute Davide Frattesi scored the decisive goal, taking Inter to the final with an aggregate score of 7-6.

Hansi Flick criticized the decisions of Polish referee Szymon Marciniak, saying, “Every 50-50 decision went in favor of Inter.”

He objected to the penalty given to Inter, which was awarded after a VAR review for a tackle by Pau Koubasi on Lautaro Martinez. Meanwhile, a penalty awarded to Barcelona was dismissed by VAR, stating that Mkhitaryan’s foul on Yamal occurred outside the box.

Barcelona’s players and staff also raised objections regarding a potential handball and a foul by Dumfries on Gerard Martin that occurred before Inter’s equalizing goal.

In the post-match press conference, Flick stated, “I don’t want to say too much about the referee, but every decision went in their favor. I am not disappointed with my team; they gave it their all.”

He further added, “I have said what I needed to say to the referee, but I will not repeat it here.”

Now the focus is on La Liga, a big match against Real awaits

After winning the Copa del Rey, Barcelona has lost the hope of a treble. The team will now focus on La Liga, where they are at the top and will play ‘El Clasico’ against Real Madrid on Sunday. Barcelona is four points ahead and has won the last three Clasico matches.

Flick said, “We will learn from this. We want to move forward, and we don’t have much time, but the next match is coming soon. Every player should be proud of themselves.”

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar