Which Inter players were rested ahead of Bayern Champions League quarter-final | OneFootball

Simone Inzaghi made seven changes to his Inter team for Saturday’s Serie A match against Cagliari following the 2-1 victory over Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday night, affording rests to several key players ahead of next week’s return fixture.

Inter currently have a 2-1 lead over Bayern thanks to goals from Lautaro Martinez and Davide Frattesi in Bavaria. The two teams will meet again in San Siro on Wednesday night to determine who progresses to the quarter-final, where one team will go on to face either Barcelona or Borussia Dortmund.

There is a date with Cagliari ongoing in Serie A in between, though. You can follow the action from Inter-Cagliari on the Football Italia Liveblog.

Which players did Inzaghi rest ahead of Inter-Bayern second leg?

Inzaghi made several alterations, and intentionally rested several key first-team players ahead of the second leg against Bayern.

The coach swapped all three members of his defensive line out: Benjamin Pavard, Francesco Acerbi and Alessandro Bastoni all started against Bayern, but were replaced by Yann Bisseck, Stefan De Vrij and Carlos Augusto against Cagliari.

MILAN, ITALY – APRIL 02: Alessandro Bastoni  warms up prior to the Coppa Italia Semi Final match between AC Milan and FC Internazionale at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on April 02, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

There were also changes at wing-back, as Federico Dimarco and Nicola Zalewski came into the team against Cagliari. Matteo Darmian started on the right against Bayern, while Carlos Augusto played in a more advanced role on the left.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan was also given a rest for the Cagliari match, and was replaced by Italy international and Bayern goalscorer Frattesi. The Armenian is expected to come back into the team for the second leg of the quarter-final.

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

Arguably the biggest absence from the Inter starting line-up against Cagliari was Marcus Thuram, who was rested and replaced by Marko Arnautovic in Serie A.

Nerazzurri XI against Cagliari

Sommer; Bisseck, De Vrij, C.Augusto; Zalewski, Frattesi, Calhanoglu, Barella, Dimarco; L.Martinez, Arnautovic.