Inter Milan replaced Andre Onana by Yann Sommer in the summer of 2023 and the veteran goalkeeper set up a man-of-the-match version in their dramatic victory over Barcelona
Wayne Rooney showered Yann Sommer with praise after the goalkeeper of Inter Milan played a crucial role when sending his side to the Champions League final. Sommer made some huge rescues to overcome Barcelona 4-3 in an epic encounter in the San Siro.
Inter seemed to go out of the competition after the goal of Raphinha Barca saw down from 2-0 to lead 3-2 in the 87th minute. But the stunning finish of Francesco Acerbi in the 93rd minute sent the match to extra time with the scores level at 6-6 on aggregate.
The Italian team then completed the score by Davide Fratesi, who showed great calm to choose the bottom corner. The home team needed Sommer to be on top form to be sure of their victory, forced with the Swiss international in some flying stops.
He received his fingertips to two curly efforts from Lamine Yamal who looked for the top corner and made a stunning salvation from Eric Garcia, who had the goal from a cross. Sommer, 36, was named Man of the Match after raising his Save count to 14 over the two legs.
“His performance was top class and he completely deserves the man-of-the-match award,” said Rooney on Amazon Prime. “That is what you need if you try to win trophies and come to the final, you need your goalkeeper to think of big moments and big saves and that is what he did.
“Some will say that his job is and he is there to save the ball, but it is the amount of saves over the two legs.”
Sommer was signed for only € 6 million (£ 5 million) from Bayern Munich after the Club had sold Andre Onana to Manchester United for £ 43 million in the summer of 2023.
“It was a crazy game,” he said. “I am really proud of this team and how we played. We were already a bit out and then we came back – great.
“It means a lot – you don't have many opportunities to go to a final. We knew that in the last four minutes it was our last chance to continue. We put everything on this field with the fans and now we are really happy.”
Speaking with Sky Sports Italia, he chose the last rescue of Yamal as the best of the party. “That last stop at Lamine was very special,” he said. “He is an extremely talented player who always tries to cut and shoot. I am just glad that the shot did not go inside.”
“This competition shows that we believe to the end. Just look at Acerbi. We continued to believe in the last second.” Inter plays Paris Saint-Germain or Arsenal, who leaves in the second semifinal in the French capital on Wednesday evening.