Inter Reach First Champions League Final in 13 Years

Duro Ikhazuagbe with agency report

Internazionale defeated AC Milan 1-0  last night to qualify (aggregate 3-0) for the final of the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League to be played in Istanbul, Turkey on June 10.

Inter’s Argentine striker, Lautaro Martinez, finished Romelu Lukaku’s flick from between melee of legs right inside AC Milan’s box in the 74th minute. That goal  killed off any hope of Stefano Pioli’s men staging a comeback with aggregate three goals down.

For the three-time winners of the European Cup or Champions League, but have not reached the final since they last lifted the trophy 13 years ago, Inter will now wait for the winner of tonight’s battle between treble-chasing hosts Manchester City and defending champions Real Madrid. The first leg ended in a one-all stalemate last Tuesday in Bernabeu.

Heavily backed at a feverish San Siro as the designated home team, Inter were made to absorb early pressure as a determined start by Milan ensured the match began at a frenetic pace.

Theo Hernandez fired marginally over with a ferocious strike and Brahim Diaz was denied by Andre Onana as Pioli’s men attempted to undo the damage done by conceding two goals inside 11 minutes last week.

The talented Rafael Leao, absent for Milan in the first leg because of a thigh injury, displayed flashes of inspiration on his return but shot agonisingly wide of the far post after driving in from the left.

Inter asserted themselves as the first half progressed and the tie would have been effectively over before the interval had it not been for Mike Maignan’s stunning reaction save from Edin Dzeko’s close-range header.

Inter had starved Milan of encouragement in a largely uneventful second half, before Martinez squeezed the ball under Maignan and into the bottom corner with 16 minutes remaining to send the Inter fans into raptures.

The full-time whistle was greeted by a deafening noise as Inter’s first shot at European glory since their 2010 success was confirmed.