Inter Milan forward Lautaro Martinez scored the solitary goal of the second leg of the Champions League semifinal against AC Milan to hand the Nerazzurri a 3-0 win on aggregate and seal a spot in the final of Europe’s premier game. The Nerazzurri will face either Real Madrid or Barcelona in the final of Europe’s elite championship. Photo by the AFP.
Inter Milan advanced to the final of the Champions League for the first time in 13 years thanks to a goal scored by Lautaro Martinez on Tuesday, which gave them a 3-0 victory against AC Milan on the night’s aggregate score.
Inter will obviously be the underdog when they take on either Real Madrid or Manchester City in Istanbul on June 10, but the manner in which they controlled both legs of this all-Milan tie suggests that they will be difficult to defeat.
The Argentinian Martinez swapped passes with Romelu Lukaku, who came on as a replacement, and then hammered a drive from within the penalty area, which Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan let to go in at his near post. This was the defining moment of the evening at the San Siro.
Martinez, who serves as captain for Inter, praised the cohesiveness of his squad after both of their matches against their opponents from the same city.
“The team is what really matters. It happened to me while I was playing for Argentina in the World Cup,” he stated.
“If you have a cohesive team and everyone is working together toward the same goal, it will make your job much simpler. It implies that you get the opportunity to compete in these really significant matches in the very best way possible.
He continued by saying, “After winning the World Cup and experiencing what is considered to be the pinnacle for a player, I knew we could reach this final, and we did it.”
His goal ended any chance of a draw between the teams.
Milan was already down 2-0 from the first leg, but they made a strong drive in the first half. Rafael Leao was the one who led the charge, and he had one of his team’s greatest chances when he fired across the goal and beyond the post.
Then, Maignan performed an outstanding save by getting down on his knees and collecting Edin Dzeko’s looping header off of Hakan Calhanoglu’s speedy free kick. The introduction of Lukaku in the second half provided the impetus that was necessary for Inter to further expand their lead.
Lukaku has progressively fought his way back to his previous level of play after missing a significant portion of the season due to injury and suffering a reputational blow following Belgium’s poor performance at the World Cup.
The attacker who was on loan from Chelsea quickly caused difficulties for the Milan defense. He also set up Martinez’s goal, which ensured that they would be playing in their first Champions League final since Jose Mourinho was the coach when they last won European club football’s most prestigious award in 2010.
“Tutti an Istanbul,” the ecstatic Inter fans sang with the Nerazzurri now only one game away from clinching their fourth Champions League crown.
“It’s a dream come true,” Inter coach Simone Inzaghi remarked after the game. We never doubted that we would be successful, and our road (to the final) has been nothing short of remarkable.
“What exactly made me happy? Everything. The running, the determination, and the focus… all of these things were done extremely well.
The outcome of the other semi-final, which is now tied 1-1 and will be decided on Wednesday at City’s Etihad Stadium, will determine who Inzaghi’s team will face in the final. It will either be Manchester City or Real Madrid, who hold the record for the most number of times they have won the Champions League.
Martinez remarked that in order to be successful, “we are going to have to give it our all.”
The head coach of Milan, Stefano Pioli, was forced to mull over a disappointing conclusion to what had been “a terrific” march to the last four.
It is natural to feel disheartened following a loss in the semi-final, especially one that occurred in a local derby.
“The players gave their best in both legs, but Inter was the team that came out on top. They defeated us in both bouts thanks to their superior performance.
“Taking into account our journey and everything that we’ve accomplished over the course of the last three years, it would have been amazing to make it to the final. However, it seems like we won’t be making it, and that’s a huge letdown.