In an evenly matched and extremely thrilling encounter, Inter Milan triumphed over AC Milan at Giuseppe Meazza stadium, Milan city, to advance into the finals of the 2022-2023 Champions League. With both teams fighting for a berth in the finals, Lautaro Martinez managed to squeeze in the single winning goal in the second half to help Inter Milan clinch a hard fought 1-0 to extend their aggregate lead and head into the finals.
Quite appropriately named as the “Milan Derby” or “Derby Della Madonnina”, the encounter was yet another spectacle in the dated rivalry between two of the most celebrated Italian Football Clubs. Matches between these two sides are more than a mere fixture; it is a tradition and a major sporting attraction.
The match went back and forth throughout as both teams made desperate attempts to score and ascertain a semis win. AC Milan seemingly let lose in the second half as they failed to threaten when needing to find a goal. In the end, it was Lautaro Martinez who stepped up and scored the solitary goal of the match at 74 minutes, thus ending all hopes of AC Milan making the finals.
Both the Milan sides have been in competitive form this season, with Inter having a better showing in this season’s Serie A tournament. This season saw Inter finishing at third spot while AC ended the tournament at fifth. This victory also meant the Inter Milan have emerged victorious in all of their three encounters with AC Milan in 2023. They were already leading 2-0 on aggregate before entering the match on Tuesday.
It was a swift assist from Romelu Lukaku, who recovered the ball inside the penalty area with a defender draping over him. He slipped out a sublime short pass to Lautaro Martinez positioned to his left, who wasted no time in shifting the ball to his left foot and firing a low shot between goalkeeper Mike Maignan and the near post.
This turned out to be the deciding goal of the match and Martínez was been named player of the match by UEFA for his performance. The victory at San Siro has ensured that Inter Milan have reached the Champions League final, which is also their first European final in 13 years. This will be the club’s first European final since their famous victory over Barcelona in 2010.
After this close yet convincing victory, Inter will now have their eyes on the Manchester City Vs Real Madrid encounter, the winner of which will be facing off with them in the Champions League Finals next month in Istanbul. While on the other hand, AC Milan will have some regrouping to day since they have now failed to score even a single goal in 5 of their last 12 Champions League games this campaign. No other team has failed to do so more often this season.
