Simone Inzaghi’s team had been in a fragile state in recent weeks after their treble bid went up in smoke, surrendering top spot in Serie A to Napoli and being dumped out of the Italian Cup by local rivals AC Milan.
But beating star-studded Barca, and the incredible manner in which they did it, has completely changed the atmosphere at Inter who are now bullish about their chances of being crowned kings of Europe for the fourth time.
.Inter Milan are one victory away from Champions League redemption after Tuesday’s chaotic, mesmerising win over Barcelona which propelled the Italians into their second final in three seasons
Inter will take on either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain in Munich knowing their task will be nowhere near as difficult as it was two years ago, when they were narrowly beaten by possibly the best Manchester City team of the Pep Guardiola era.
That single-goal defeat to City in Istanbul was a bitter one for Inter who felt they were the better team on the night, bridging a monstrous financial gap with the mega-rich Premier League club with tactical nous and desire.
“We’ve been thinking about this since the day after we lost the last final”, said captain Lautaro Martinez, almost sobbing with joy after the final whistle.
“Now we’ve got to rest and finish the season well, knowing we have another opportunity to make history” .
Inter have always had the reputation of being an anarchic, crazy club, as capable of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory as they are winning major titles.