Taremi recalls night where Inter navigated their way to Munich

Vavel.com – MILAN, Taremi thought back to the thriller in Milan as Inter beat Barcelona in Champions League semi-final.

Mehdi Taremi talked fondly about the “amazing” night at San Siro that sealed a spot in the final of the Champions League. Inter Milan and Barcelona evenly split six goals in the first leg and repeated the feat in the first ninety minutes of the return fixture in Italy. The striker was at the heart of the action for the winner and wants to make sure that moment is part of a bigger, beautiful story.

Taremi took the place of Lautaro Martinez in the second half of the second leg against Barcelona. The club captain had run his race, having beaten the body clock to get back into the squad following a flexor injury the week before. The stage was set for the striker to play his part in a massive moment.

Most of Taremi’s time involved helping the Nerazzurri try to hold on against an opponent that were growing in confidence. They fell behind to a Raphinha strike but Francesco Acerbi equalised in injury time to take the tie to extra time. In the end, Inter would win thanks to a goal from fellow substitute Davide Frattesi and Taremi was the man to set him up for this strike on the night.

“It was a nice night for me. It was great for the team. I liked that me and Frattesi came in and the other players too and that was so nice for us.”

Taremi talked about how the play went from start to finish for the final goal of the game at San Siro.

“At the beginning, I touched the ball with my head then Marcus received the ball. He went pass the defender and passed to me. When he wanted to cross because Marcus is not the player to cross high, and with his quality, I felt the ball would go there. I passed to Davide, and he did a perfect finish.”

It was the most important contribution from the forward in his first season at the club after a summer switch from his home of four years at Porto. But that is only because of the meaning of the 4-3 victory for the Italians and the Iranian stressed that the targets of the team matter the most to him.

“The most important thing was that we won the game and that was our goal. When I got the assist, it was incredible for me. In that game, the emotion of the game, everything was just perfect for me.”

It is safe to say that the second leg was a night that will live long in the memory of the 32-year-old.

“The emotion was amazing. I think everyone got emotional and supporters who were in the stadium.”

He is also marking almost uncharted territory for his nation. The Iranian reached the quarter-final of the tournament in his first season with Porto, scoring a consolation goal with an overhead kick late in the second leg against eventual winners Chelsea. But now he is in the final, it is the second time that a player from his country has been in the showpiece event after Ali Daei with Bayern Munich in 1999.

“As an Iranian player from the Middle East, Asia, that’s a dream come true. That is amazing. From my country, only a few players have played in the semi-finals of Champions League which is the biggest tournament in the world and that was so perfect. I cannot explain how emotional I was.”

The 32-year-old then shared some thoughts about the Parisians. They are chasing a first Champions League title and the first treble in their history. That will be a major motivation for the French outfit, but the striker is sure that his teammates will offer a strong showing on Saturday night in Munich.

“We respect them. They are a good team, great actually. But we have to do it our way how we play and then let’s see what we’re going to do in this game. But I think it’s going to be exciting to watch.”