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Inter loses to Barcelona but advances to final

BARCELONA — Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan lineup overcame Thiago Motta’s early sending off and a late Barcelona rally to reach the Champions League final at the expense of the defending champions.

Inter will play Bayern Munich on May 22 at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium after eliminating Barcelona 3-2 overall despite losing Wednesday’s semifinal second leg 1-0.

After denying Barcelona a chance to repeat at bitter rival Real Madrid’s home ground, Mourinho welcomed a shower of bottles from a section of the 96,214 fans at the Camp Nou.

It didn’t sour the occasion for Mourinho, who gives Inter a chance at its first title since 1965 in Europe’s marquee tournament.

“It’s the greatest loss of my life ... It was an extraordinary game,” Mourinho said. “It’s tough with 11 players against Barcelona — with 10 it’s a historic feat.”

Inter was reduced to 10 men from the 28^th minute when Motta picked up a second yellow card after tangling with Sergio Busquets. Gerard Pique’s individual effort in the 84^th gave Barcelona a chance to advance, but by then it was almost too late.

“The sending off proved counterproductive,” Pique said of Barcelona’s inability to make more of the one-man advantage. “The red card created a lot of anxiety, it made us want to score a first goal quickly.”

Barcelona took the lead just moments after substitute Bojan Krkic headed a clear chance wide. Pique received the ball inside the area before twisting past a defender and goalkeeper Julio Cesar and then drilling his shot into an empty net.

Barcelona star Lionel Messi was given little room to roam, but the Argentina winger had a chance in the closing stages after having delivered a perfect cross for Krkic in the 82^nd minute.

Mourinho, who returns to the Champions League final for the first time since he guided Porto to the title in 2004, sprinted onto the field with the rest of his squad to celebrate at the final whistle.

Inter managed just one shot on goal in the contest but still halted Barcelona’s incredible run under Pep Guardiola, who has guided the Spanish giant to record six trophies.

“It was tough, but the players did all they could,” Guardiola said. “But we couldn’t do it this year.”

Inter, meanwhile, is closing in on a historic treble as it leads the Serie A standings and has secured a place in the Italian Cup final.

“We knew we would suffer in this marvelous stadium, but we did what we had to do tonight,” said Inter striker Samuel Eto’o, who will play in his third Champions League final after winning the trophy with Barcelona in 2006 and 2009.

Bayern secured its place in the final after beating French club Lyon 3-0 on Tuesday and 4-0 on aggregate. Both teams in the Madrid final will be missing a player through suspension.

“Bayern is a team filled with great players, full of tradition,” Mourinho said. “It will be a great final. It’s a pity Motta and (Franck) Ribery cannot play.”

Tensions ran high in Barcelona after Mourinho had stoked the rivalry before the game by stating Barca was “obsessed” with playing the final at bitter rival Madrid’s home stadium.

As expected, three-time champion Barcelona controlled possession while patiently pressing forward with the aim of finding a gap in Inter’s tight defense, which closed down the middle of the pitch. That left the home side to surge forward mostly along the flanks.

Pedro Rodriguez, who scored Barcelona’s only goal in the first leg at Milan, met a cross from Daniel Alves inside the area in the 23^rd minute but could only send a good opportunity wide.

Minutes later, Motta received a second booking for a slap to Busquets’ face.

Inter effectively dug in for the remainder, with Barcelona unable to exploit the extra space as Messi’s runs were largely cut off before they reached the area. He had the Spanish champion’s best chance of the first half in the 32^nd minute but Cesar stretched to his right to tip the curling shot wide.

Barcelona continued to pressure in the second half, especially after Krkic came on for Zlatan Ibahimovic in the 63^rd. Barcleona had several penalty appeals waived away before Pique’s goal. In a desperate search for a late goal, Messi failed to get a foot on a pass at the near post. He then sent a shot straight into the arms of Cesar.

Guardiola didn’t believe Barcelona’s failure to reach back-to-back finals meant the club had become victim of its own success.

“Reaching the semifinals of the Champions League, there’s never a question of being a victim,” Guardiola said. “This club knows how to lose because it has lost a lot more than it has won.”