Inter show they won’t be Euro pushovers

Inter Milan handled the pressure of being favourites. Now, they must conjure the spirit of the underdog.

Inter Milan's Romelu Lukaku and teammates react at the end of the Champions League semi-final second leg match against AC Milan. Picture: AFP

Inter Milan handled the pressure of being favourites. Now, they must conjure the spirit of the underdog.

In the end, this wonderfully frenzied and frantic Milan derby, played out over three hours at San Siro, was settled in its opening 11 minutes. Edin Dzeko and Henrik Mkhitaryan’s goals in the first leg proved too much for AC Milan to overturn and by the time Lautaro Martinez added a late third here, the tie was gone.

Inter resisted their fiercest rivals to reach their first Champions League final in 13 years, their chance now for a fourth European Cup.

In the final will be either Real Madrid or Manchester City and the accepted wisdom is this was the play-off for second place, that the second leg in Manchester, not Milan, will decide this year’s European champion.

City or Madrid will certainly be favourites on June 10 but Inter have weapons. They have form, with eight wins now on the bounce.

In Martinez and Dzeko, and Romelu Lukaku on the bench, they have one of the best attacks in Europe. They will have less pressure too, less expectation, particularly if it is City in Istanbul, the city where anything is possible in a Champions League final.

Inter’s fans came in expectation not trepidation, still riding high on their commanding first-leg victory.

Inside, Olivier Giroud led a Milan huddle during the warm-up, perhaps to counter the cacophony of noise already coming from the Inter majority.

It was a frantic contest, all tussles and tackles early on, but with openings at both ends. Mkhitaryan looped over for Inter before Denzel Dumfries flew into Diaz head first.

Leao delivered the first moment of real quality. He outmuscled Matteo Darmian and tore away down the left, slowing down Francesco Acerbi and then motoring past him, before curving a shot just past the far post. Inter went close, with Mike Maignan reacting well to push away Dzeko’s header.

The contest drifted before the hour, with Inter exerting more control over their opponents whose energy was fading. Milan needed a lifeline but Inter could sense the knockout blow and with 16 minutes remaining it came. Martinez lost his marker after a simple exchange with Lukaku in the box and he rifled his shot past the goalkeeper.

The Times