Inter Milan reach UEFA Champions League final after 13 years

 

In 2010 Inter Milan won a treble thanks to the tactical ingenuity of Jose Mourinho, who led the team to the Seria A, Copa Italia, and the UEFA Champions League. Since then, the Nerazzuri have not had the opportunity of getting to the UEFA Champions League final.

This season seemed to be theirs as they reached the semi-final after beating Portuguese club Benfica in the quarter-finals, but they had to beat their arch-rivals whom they share the same stadium, to make the final of the competition.

When the draws were made, AC Milan was considered the favourites to go ahead into the final rather than Inter Milan. However, after two legs of UEFA Champions League football, Inter Milan is through to the final of the competition in Istanbul, Turkey, with a 3-0 aggregate scoreline.

With both teams sharing the San Siro as their home ground, there was no chance for the usual “home advantage,” and that was the reason why Inter Milan breezed to a 2-0 victory from the first leg with goals from Edin Dzeko and Henrikh Mkhitaryan within just the first 10 minutes of the first leg.

In the second leg, it was not straightforward for Inter Milan as they had to wait till the final 20 minutes of the game before Lautaro Martinez scored the first goal of the night and the third goal on aggregate, which eventually sealed their final ticket.

Inter Milan will now wait for the winner of the Real Madrid versus Manchester City semi-final, with the second leg expected on Wednesday at Etihad Stadium as both teams go into the second leg balanced with a 1-1 draw.

The final of the UEFA Champions League for the 2022/2023 season will be held in Istanbul on June 10.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu