Inter are in the final, and Barcelona have missed out on Rafinha's chance to break the record

Inter knock Barcelona out of Champions League in dramatic clash, Rafinha's record falls short

Inter Milan hosted Barcelona in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final. The first leg ended in a 3-3 draw. This time, the match was a real football feast for the fans, but extra time was needed to determine the winner.

The main part of the match was again evenly matched, ending with a 3-3 scoreline. In extra time, the Italians were more successful in qualifying for the final: Inter's talented midfielder Davide Frattesi scored the winner, taking his team to the final. The aggregate score was 4-3, and Inter will continue to fight for the title in Europe's most prestigious club competition.

A strange and painful situation occurred for the Catalans in this match. One of Barcelona's leading forwards, Brazilian Rafinha, has been eliminated from the competition early, despite his impressive goals and assists. The 28-year-old was also the team's best player in this match, collecting 21 points in the "goal + assist" system. In the current Champions League season, Rafinha has scored 13 goals and provided 8 assists.

With this result, Rafinha has repeated the record of Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, who is famous for his efficiency. It should be recalled that Ronaldo scored exactly 21 points ("goal + assist") for Real Madrid in the 2013-2014 season. However, while the Portuguese star achieved this result with 17 goals and 4 assists, Rafinha distributed the ratio of goals and assists more evenly.

Unfortunately, due to Barcelona's exit from the competition, Rafinha missed out on the chance to break the record for the highest scoring goal in the history of the Champions League. If the Catalans had reached the final, the Brazilian striker would have had at least one more match to break this record.

After the match, Barcelona head coach Hans-Dieter Flick praised the players' fighting spirit and determination and explained the reasons for the defeat:

"All our players played with all their might, I'm pleased with their performance. But today we were a little unlucky. Inter played very well both in attack and defense. We, on the other hand, could not play with the optimal lineup due to injuries to our key players. But I am sure that we will come back strong," said the Catalan coach.

Now Inter awaits its opponent in the Champions League final. The results of the Italians this season have been highly praised by many experts and fans. In the final, they will once again compete for the highest trophy in European football.

Rafinha will have to wait until next season to improve his record. The Catalans will undoubtedly start training again to once again lead the continental stage.

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