Champions League: This Is Inter Milan’s First Time Final Since..

On Tuesday, May 16, Inter Milan defeated rival AC Milan 1-0 in the Champions League semifinal second leg; thanks to a second-half goal by forward Lautaro Martinez. With this result, they secure a 3-0 aggregate victory and a ticket to the Istanbul final.

In the first leg, Milan regained some of their spark, but Martinez of Inter put the tie to bed in the 74th minute at the San Siro with a powerful shot from close range.

Inter went into the game holding a 2-0 advantage after Edin Dzeko and Henrikh Mkhitaryan had struck right off the bat in a flying beginning to the first leg and never searched in serious peril of passing up the final, where they will come face-to-face with Real Madrid or Manchester City on June 10.

Inter, who reached the semifinals by defeating Porto and Benfica in Portugal, will play in the final for the sixth and first time since winning their third European Cup under Jose Mourinho in 2009-2010.

After resting players in Serie A over the weekend, Inter coach Simone Inzaghi selected Martinez and Dzeko to lead the team in the first leg.

After being sidelined in the first leg with an injury to his adductor, main forward Rafael Leao played again for Milan. Junior Messias and Malick Thiaw started in place of Alexis Saelemaekers and Simon Kjaer.

A much more courageous Milan team might have scored in the first half, but Inter goalkeeper Andre Onana stopped a low shot from Brahim Diaz that was headed for the bottom right corner.

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After Leao missed a great chance to cut the deficit in half late in the first half, Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan brilliantly stopped Dzeko, who jumped high to meet a free kick.

While Stefano Pioli’s Milan continued testing for an opening to start a rebound, Inter hinted in the first half that they would not be taking their foot of the gas.

Martinez ultimately demonstrated Milan’s killer, playing a one-two with substitute Romelu Lukaku before scoring his 6th goals in Inter’s last six games.

Since Milan won the semifinals and quarterfinals of the competition in 2002-03 and 2004-05, this is the first time Inter has advanced from a tie that was an all-Milan showdown.