Inter's bold treble bid bumps up against past glory at Bayern Munich
Captain Lautaro Martinez has said that Inter are eyeing the Serie A, Champions League and Italian Cup treble. (Isabella BONOTTO)
Inter Milan are on an unlikely mission to repeat the treble as the Serie A champions travel to take on Bayern Munich, the team they beat to complete a historic Champions League triumph under Jose Mourinho 15 years ago.
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League leaders in Italy and also contesting the Italian Cup semi-finals with AC Milan, Inter have made no secret of their ambitions to emulate their best ever season of 2009/10, when a star-studded team beat Bayern in Madrid thanks to a Diego Milito brace after already securing the two domestic honours.
Another Argentina striker in Lautaro Martinez has been the most bullish about Inter's chances, the captain saying that he believes the Italians can pull off what would be a near miracle ahead of the first leg of their quarter-final with Bayern on Tuesday.
"It's almost like we don't want to say it but yes," Martinez said last month after a statement win at Atalanta.
"It will be difficult but we'll go for it because we want to win every match we play."
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Inter are the most recent Italian team to win the Champions League and were unfortunate to lose the 2023 final to Manchester City, but there is no denying that Serie A has lost the lustre of yesteryear in the continent's elite club competition.
The clashes with Bayern are the key fixtures in Inter's packed April after a relatively straightforward run to the quarters in which coach Simone Inzaghi often rotated his line-ups, with the Serie A title defence his priority in the early months of the season.
Inter have only conceded twice in the Champions League and have the best defensive record in the competition this season with two goals, but have been far more fallible at the back than last term.
- Shaky Inter -
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One of those two goals conceded came in Inter's only defeat on their way to a top-eight finish in the league phase, 1-0 at Bayern's league title rivals Bayer Leverkusen.
An inability to close out matches has characterised a large number of Inter's performances this term, and their Serie A tally of 30 goals conceded is already eight more than in their charge to last year's Scudetto.
Inter threw away a two-goal lead to draw at lowly Parma on Saturday, and the week before came very close to doing the same thing against Udinese at the San Siro.
Their lead at the top of Serie A could be cut to one point on Monday night after arriving in Germany, with closest Scudetto challengers Napoli at in-form Bologna.
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Assistant coach Massimiliano Farris said after Saturday's draw that Inter "couldn't find the mental or physical energy to contain" Parma after going two ahead, a worrying statement before a trip to face Harry Kane and company.
Luckily for Inter, Italy defender Alessandro Bastoni looks likely to be fit after being seen with an ice pack on his left knee at Parma, but the continued absence of Denzel Dumfries at right wing-back is a problem with Bayern's power on the flanks.
Inter's chances are helped by a Bayern injury crisis which has come just as Vincent Kompany's team close in on reclaiming the Bundesliga, with an eye on the Champions League final at their Allianz Arena.
Germany star Jamal Musiala is the latest Bayern player to be ruled out of the tie with a hamstring tear which looks to have ended his season.
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Musiala joins defenders Alphonso Davies, Dayot Upamecano and Hiroki in likely being on the sidelines until the end of the current campaign, while goalkeeper and captain Manuel Neuer, winger Kingsley Coman and midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic have unclear timelines for their returns from injury.
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