Bayer Munich face off against Inter Milan in one of the heavyweight clashes of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday night.
The 2020 Champions, in recent meetings against the reigning Italian champions, have enjoyed a good run of results, with the most recent being the home and away victories in the group stage of the 2022/2023 season of the competition.
However, Simone Inzaghi’s side had a good run in the league phase of the competition with six wins, a loss and a draw as they qualified for the second round without going through the playoffs like Bayern Munich did.
Bayern Munich had to secure a narrow victory, a 3-2 aggregate scoreline over Glasgow Celtics in the playoffs, before convincingly taking apart Bayer Leverkusen in the second round.
Antecedents say Bayer Munich are overwhelming favorites to win and progress to the semi-finals, having won five of their last nine meetings in the competition. However, when push comes to shove, Inter Milan have found a way to hurt the Bavarians in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League.
This post examines 3 reasons why Inter Milan can shock Bayern Munich
1. Inter Milan is Bayern Munich’s Nemesis
Aside from Real Madrid, who have been the weapon fashioned against Bayern Munich in recent years in the Champions League, Inter Milan tend to hurt Bavarians, especially in the knockout stage of the competition. Only Real Madrid have knocked out Bayern Munich in the Champions League – seven times, than Inter Milan – twice. The last two meetings ended in a 2-0 for Inter Milan in the 2010 final and on the away goal rule in the 2010-11 round of sixteen after a 3-3 aggregate scoreline.
2. Defensive Solidity
Inter Milan boasts the best defense in the Champions League this season. The Serie A heavyweights have only conceded two goals so far this season. Simone Inzaghi will rely on their compactness in defense with the 3-5-2 setup to shut down Harry Kane, Leroy Sane, and Michael Olise. Jamal Musiala’s injury is also a big boost to Inter Milan’s quest to send Bayern Munich out of the knockout stage again. The German attacking midfielder is set to miss the rest of the season after suffering a hamstring injury in Bayern Munich’s 3-1 win away at Augsburg on Friday.
3. Clinical strike force
Inter Milan’s strike force might not be as devastating as that of Bayern Munich, but Lautaro Martinez and French striker Marcus Thuram are good enough to hurt Bayern Munich’s defense. The two strikers have combined for nine goals this season en route to Inter Milan’s quarter-final berth. Lautaro Martinez and Thuram will look to exploit Bayern Munich’s frail defense, which parades Min-Jae Kim and former Tottenham Hotspur center-back Eric Dier. Bayern Munich will also be without Dayot Upamecano and Anthony Davies in defense, which is to Inter Milan’s advantage.
