On May 17, Lautaro Martinez once again made the difference as Inter Milan overcame AC Milan 1-0 at San Siro in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinal.
After an evenly matched game, Martinez scored the game’s first goal in the 74th minute as Stefano Pioli’s team failed to pose a threat to Simone Inzaghi’s team.
First half of the Derby della Madonnina saw nonstop activity as Inter sat deep and AC Milan controlled early possession. Both teams had plenty of opportunities.
Sandro Tonali, who was brought near to the byline after Nicolo Barella was robbed by Theo Hernandez, gave the Rossoneri their first opportunity of the game. Brahim Diaz received the midfielder’s cutback and shot directly towards the goal, but Andre Onana easily stopped him due to the lack of strength in his shot.
Rafael Leao could have given AC Milan the lead just after the halfway point, but the Portuguese striker missed the target by a whisker. The winger, who was injured in the last game, beat his defender by cutting in on his left foot and shooting wide from a tight angle.
Just before the half-hour mark, Mike Maignan was pushed into a point-blank save. Hakan Calhanoglu had sent in a deceiving cross from a free kick, and Edin Dzeko had flicked it on goal, but Maignan had just enough time to react to stop it.
Shortly before halftime, Henrick Mkhitaryan suffered an injury, and Marcelo Brozovic took his place. The Rossoneri kept pushing forward in the second half, but the Nerrazurri’s solid defense held them back. Soon after the hour mark, Romelu Lukaku took Edin Dzeko’s place, and the Belgian striker provided the assist for what would ultimately be the game-winning goal for AC Milan.
Inter Milan advanced to the Istanbul Champions League final thanks to a goal from Lautaro Martinez at San Siro. When it seemed as if the Nerazzurri had stifled a good assault, the Argentine striker swapped passes with Lukaku. Then, the Chelsea Loanee found Martinez, who beat Maignan on his near post to break the score.
Acerbi had a memorable night as Inter handled with all AC Milan threw at them, utterly overshadowing Olivier Giroud. Martinez, the World Cup champion from Argentina, tried to lob the ball over Maignan, but the Frenchman recovered to divert it for a corner.
At the very end, Lukaku also came within inches of scoring. The Belgian found a gap between Kalulu’s knees, but Maignan blocked his shot, keeping the score at 1-0 as the final whistle was met with a thunderous cheer from the Nerazzurri supporters.
