Ex AC Milan Star Declares ‘We Expected To Suffer But We Never Gave Up’ In Inter Milan 2-2 Bayern Munich Champions League Clash | OneFootball

Hakan Calhanoglu says that Inter Milan “expected to suffer” in their Champions League quarterfinal second leg against Bayern Munich.

The 31-year-old spoke to Amazon Prime Video, via FCInterNews, after yesterday’s 2-2 draw.

Inter Milan made it through to the semifinals of the Champions League yesterday.

The Nerazzurri saw out their 2-1 first leg advantage against Bayern Munich. They booked their place in the penultimate round of the competition against Barcelona next month.

But Inter had to do it the hard way in many respects.

The Nerazzurri didn’t venture forward too much in a cagey first half. They just about held Bayern at arm’s length in a half where both sides clearly didn’t want to blink first.

Then in the second, Inter conceded early on. However, they responded quickly with two goals from corner kicks which allowed them to reassert control of the tie.

But if it seemed like it was going to be a relatively calm end to the match for Inter, Bayern had other ideas. Eric Dier scored a looping header in the 76th minute of play.

That put the Bavarians back to where they were at the start of the match – a goal away from extra time.

And from then on it was a siege on Inter’s penalty area. And virtually one long heart-in-mouth sequence for the Nerazzurri.

Hakan Calhanoglu: “Inter Knew We’d Have To Suffer” Vs Bayern”

MILAN, ITALY – MARCH 11: Hakan Calhanoglu of FC Internazionale celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Round of 16 Second Leg match between FC Internazionale Milano and Feyenoord at Stadio San Siro on March 11, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

“Of course I expected to suffer like this,” Inter midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu said after the final whistle.

“Bayern are a strong team. They have players of a high quality.”

“But we prepared for it to be like this,” continued Calhanoglu.

“In the second half, after the goal that we conceded, we made it 1-1 and then 2-1,” he noted.

“Then we had to defend for the last ten minutes. But we succeeded.”

“We’re happy with it,” declared the Turkish international.

As far as how Inter responded to Bayern’s first goal, Calhanoglu said that “these are the details that make the difference.”

“We didn’t give up,” said the former AC Milan midfielder. “We made it 2-1 immediately, and then had another ten minutes at a very high level.”

“Then we dropped deeper to defend our goal,” added Calhanoglu.