Inter go into the second leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich with a 2-1 advantage, and history is on their side. The Serie A leaders have gone through in 21 of their last 23 European knockout ties when winning the first leg.
Inter are in strong form, unbeaten since mid-February, and they beat Cagliari 3-1 in their latest league match. At home in Europe, they’ve also been impressive—unbeaten in their last 14 Champions League home games, which is currently the longest unbeaten home run in the competition. That streak includes last week’s win that ended Bayern’s own 22-game unbeaten run in the UCL.
However, Inter need to stay alert—despite their lead, they’ve never beaten Bayern at home in Europe, their worst home record against any one team.
Bayern will take encouragement from that, as well as from the fact they’ve never conceded a goal away to Inter in the Champions League. They’ll be hoping to repeat what they did against Lazio in the last 16, where they came from behind in the first leg to win the tie. That was their only successful comeback in eight attempts when trailing after the first leg.
On Saturday, Bayern drew 2-2 with Borussia Dortmund, keeping them six points clear at the top of the Bundesliga. Manager Vincent Kompany called it a match he’d pay to watch, but he knows that only a win in Milan will do if Bayern are to reach the semi-finals—something they’ve managed just once since their 2019/20 Champions League triumph.
