Fixed: Sports Events Recap Clip, May 16 (Sports5)
Inter did it. The Nerazzurri beat AC Milan 0-1 in the Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday night, drawing 0-3 in the derby and returning to European football's pinnacle for the first time since 2010. Simona Inzaghi's players will of course be clear underdogs against Manchester City or Real Madrid on June 10 in Istanbul, but they should not be eulogized.
For the Nerazzurri, it will be their first final since winning against Bayern Munich with a 0-2 win from a pair of goals from Diego Milito, in what could be the fourth time Inter will hoist the trophy with the big ears. This is the sixth ever qualification of the Italians to the Champions League final, with their record to date standing at 3 wins and 2023 losses.
Tonight was the fourth time Inter have beaten AC Milan in 0, as apart from the pair of victories in the last week in the Champions League, the blue and black won the Italian Super Cup with an impressive 3-0 and 1-4 in the league. In fact, the Rossoneri failed to score against the Nerazzurri this year and lost two trophies, the first time ever that a Champions League finalist has managed to keep <> games in a row on a clean sheet against AC Milan.
What a picture. Lautaro with the fans (Photo by Getty Images, Marco BERTORELLO/AFP)
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Man of the match, goalscorer and hero of the evening for Inter, Lautaro Martinez, shared: "There is a lot of history to this game, we did great things in both games. Our strength is teamwork, I experienced something similar at the World Cup in Qatar. I gave the other players an example of this - if everything goes in our favor it will get easier. We need experience on evenings like these. Every time I step onto the field I give everything for this team, to help my teammates. We knew it was a great opportunity to reach the final, and here we are. We'll try to do our best there and go as far as we can."
The striker added: "This evening will stay with me for the rest of my life. I learned a lot from Messi about moments like this. I've matured a lot this season – on and off the court. I think more, spend more time with family and close friends. I suffered a lot in the past when he didn't walk, certainly physically, but I didn't stop for a moment. We are going to Istanbul to hoist the trophy. This club deserves to play in finals."
Javier Zanetti, the club's legend and current vice president, said of the opponent he would love to avoid in the final: "It was a great return to the Champions League final after 13 years. I would love to avoid Real Madrid in the final, this establishment looks like one designed for them. It's been a long journey, a derby in the semi-finals is always difficult. I experienced it too and at the time I lost it. Lautaro: I'm very happy for him, he's done an outstanding journey with us. We enjoy every moment of him with us, he is happy to be here and I hope he stays here as long as possible. Inzaghi deserves to reach this final."
Spare wins. Lukaku and Lautaro (Photo: Reuters)
Simona Inzaghi, whose status on the lines at Inter Milan was very precarious during the season, eventually managed to lift the Nerazzurri to 3 finals, one of which they had already won (Italian Super Cup). He became only the second manager since Giovanni Ibernazzi to reach the Champions League final and the club three finals in a season since the 2010–11 season.
The Inter coach concluded: "Only in the next few days will we understand what we did here. For us it was a dream, but we always believed it could be realized. It was an outstanding way and winning a derby in the semi-finals brings with it extraordinary satisfaction. I'm proud to be here. This year we've come far and it's not taken for granted, we deserved it. Now we dream big about the final. Rival? Real and City are some of the best teams in Europe. I'm happy for us. Tomorrow I will watch the game with great interest, but without any preference."
They deserve it. Inter Milan players after the final whistle (Photo: GettyImages)
The finalist, apart from the celebrations at the end of the players and professional staff with the crowd, could be a little disturbed by the injuries to Federico Dimarco and Henrich Mkhitaryan who were replaced during the match, with the Armenian's injury more troubling and the club will examine the midfielder in the coming days to speculate on the length of his absence.
If they face Real Madrid in the final, it will be the second time Inter have met the European champions, having beaten the Blancos 1963-64 in the 1–3 season en route to lifting their first European Cup. Manchester City, who have had one final, have never met in a position to date, of course.
For Andre Onana, it was the eighth time this season that he has kept a clean sheet in the current Champions League campaign, one game away from another clean sheet to equal the record of nine in a single Champions League campaign.
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Inter will meet the semi-finalist between Manchester City and Real Madrid in the Champions League final on June 10.
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