Key events
18 mins: Martinez gets back to help in defence, with his clearance deflecting off a Bayern leg and behind for a goal kick.
17 mins: Marcus Thuram runs at Eric Dier – not good news for Bayern fans, you might think, but the defender stands up and eventually draws the foul.
15 mins: Bayern turning up the heat on Inter, who cough up the ball in their own half. Olise picks it up and shoots from distance, Sommer getting right behind it to collect a well-hit effort.
14 mins: Sommer springs off his line to help his defenders deal with Leroy Sané, racing on to a through ball like a 400m runner.
12 mins: Kane sweeps a nice crossfield ball out to Sané, and while Inter’s defence hold firm, Bayern come again through Olise. He plays in right-back Laimer, whose cross is on Kane’s head … but he can’t get enough power on it to test Yann Sommer.
11 mins: Augusto just keeps the ball in play down the left and cuts back to Thuram, who is crowded out. An Inter throw is launched towards Martinez at the byline, and his pass back into traffic reaches Calhanoglu, whose shot from the edge of the area is blocked.
9 mins: Olise is somewhat harshly penalised for a high boot, allowing Inter to stroke the ball around in their own half awhile.
7 mins: Kimmich’s corner plops safely onto the roof of the net.
6 mins: Sané tries to burst into the box and while he is held up, Bayern move the ball quickly from Goretza to Olise, whose shot is deflected just wide of the far post.
5 mins: Olise gets into space down the right, but is brought down by Bastoni on the edge of the area. The referee waves play on.
3 mins: Dier’s weak headed clearance sees Inter pick it up again, Martinez getting on the ball before Augusto looks to play in Thuram down the left. Jonas Urbig is off his line quickly to claim it.
2 mins: Inter with more possession in these opening moments, and that will continue after Goretzka concedes a foul.
1 min: Bayern are in their cream-coloured Champions League kits, Inter in more dependable blue and black stripes.
Kick-off
The referee, Switzerland’s Sandro Scharer, gets us started.
The teams are out, lining up for the Champions League anthem. Bayern fans unfurl a giant tifo, declaring themselves – in English – “Kings of the Cup”. Real Madrid would like a word.
You might have heard that there’s another Champions League game on this evening. You can follow Arsenal v Real Madrid with the one and only Rob Smyth.
Head-to-head: These two giants first collided in the 1988-89 Uefa Cup, with Bayern overturning a 2-0 first-leg loss to go through on away goals. In the Champions League, Bayern have won four and lost two, with one draw. The biggest meeting was the 2010 Champions League final, won 2-0 by José Mourinho’s Inter side.
Both coaches are dealing with injuries – Jamal Musiala’s hamstring tear against Augsburg means he is out, along with Alphonso Davies, Kingsley Coman, Dayot Upamecano and others. Manuel Neuer is also not quite ready to return, so Jonas Urbig continues in goal. Eric Dier starts at centre-back, while Raphaël Guerreiro is preferred to Thomas Müller as an attacking midfielder behind Harry Kane.
Inter are missing Denzel Dumfries at right wing-back and Inzaghi is also without Mehdi Taremi and Joaquin Correa in attack. Alessandro Bastoni and Hakan Calhanoglu – both substituted against Parma due to fitness concerns – are able to start in Munich tonight.
Teams
Bayern Munich (4-2-3-1): Urbig; Laimer, Dier, Kim, Stanisic; Kimmich (c), Goretzka; Olise, Guerreiro, Sané; Kane.
Subs: Peretz, Klanac, Gnabry, João Palhinha, Boey, Vidovic, Müller, Kusi-Asare, Asp-Jensen, Karl.
Inter (3-5-2): Sommer; Pavard, Acerbi, Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Carlos Augusto; Lautaro Martínez (c), Thuram.
Subs: Di Gennaro, Josep Martínez, de Vrij, Arnautovic, Frattesi, Bisseck, Dimarco, De Pieri, Berenbruch, Zanchetta, Zalewski, Re Cecconi.
Referee: Sandro Scharer (Switzerland)
Preamble
After the thrills and spills of the “league phase”, the Champions League playoff and last-16 ties have churned out a more familiar pattern. Six of last season’s quarter-finalists – Dortmund, PSG, Barcelona, Arsenal, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich – have made it back to the last eight this time. The two newcomers are Aston Villa and Internazionale, and the team from Milan don’t feel like outsiders.
Since returning to the tournament in 2019, Inter have gradually found their feet, reaching the final in 2023 and running Manchester City very close in Istanbul. The aim now is to maintain their place at the top table, seeking an end to Italy’s 15-year European Cup drought. Given that they beat Bayern in the 2010 final, Munich seems a good place to take that next step, after a controlled campaign with just two goals conceded across 10 matches.
Inter’s underrated manager, Simone Inzaghi, was a striker in his playing days but has flourished as a defensive maestro in the dugout. By contrast, former centre-back Vincent Kompany wants his teams to play with the handbrake off, which might explain why he is excelling at Bayern after failing with Burnley. A sketchy campaign moved up a gear in the demolition of Leverkusen in the last 16.
Both sides may have dipped under the radar at times this season, but this is a proper heavyweight battle. Bayern and Inter have won nine European Cups between them, and sit top of their respective leagues. Two continental giants based just 250 miles apart, both with designs on lifting the trophy this year, but only one can advance. It’s on! Kick-off: 9pm local, 8pm BST.
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