Inter Milan struck early through Edin Dzeko and Henrikh Mkhitaryan to claim a valuable 2-0 victory against fierce rivals AC Milan in their UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg encounter on Wednesday, at the famous San Siro Stadium in Milan, Italy.
AC Milan suffered a huge blow before kick-off when talisman Rafael Leao was ruled out after failing to recover from an injury. Winger Alexis Saelemaekers replaced the Portuguese forward, with Olivier Giroud and Brahim Diaz completing the attacking lineup. For Inter, Dzeko and Lautaro Martinez featured up-front.
Inter opened the scoring in the 8th minute after Dzeko fired in a stunning volley past AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan from a corner kick.
The away team continued to press after scoring and three minutes later its was 2-0.
An attack down the left found Mkhitaryan, who strolled through the AC Milan defence and finished superbly into the corner to send the fans in San Siro into a frenzy.
Inter Milan were running riot as they blew away their rivals after a thrilling start to the Milan derby (Derby della Madonnina). Inter were then awarded a penalty in the 31st minute as Martinez went down after a challenge from defender Simon Kjaer. However, the referee overturned the decision after a VAR review.
AC Milan improved in the second half as they created chances through Diaz, substitute Junior Messias and Sandro Tonali. But they could not find a way past AC Milan’s defence.
The match finished 2-0 in favour of Inter Milan as they have one leg in the finals of the UEFA Champions League after a brilliant display.
Advantage Inter ⚫🔵#UCL pic.twitter.com/PMiyzkR2tr
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) May 10, 2023
Inter Milan will have the advantage of playing in front of their own fans, back at the San Siro for the semi-final second leg on Tuesday. The winners of the tie will play either Real Madrid or Manchester City in the final.
AC Milan will face Spezia away from home in Serie A on Saturday, before their UEFA Champions League second leg encounter. Inter Milan will host Sassuolo in Serie A also on Saturday.
