Inter resisted Porto tooth and nail and with the saves of a super Onana and returned to the quarter-finals of the Champions League after 11 years. In the home of the Portuguese, in fact, a 0-0 draw for the Nerazzurri was enough to return to the top 8 teams in Europe, but a draw wrested with character by Simone Inzaghi’s men: a performance of quantity, paying attention to the point, what often Lautaro Martinez and his companions have been missing this season.
Without forgetting even a bit of luck, because in the final Porto came close to scoring which would have taken the match into extra time on several occasions in the space of a few minutes: first Dumfries, then a super intervention by Onana also the help of the post and then a crossbar kept the match at 0-0 allowing Inter to celebrate their first qualification for the quarter-finals of the Champions League since the 2010/11 season.
THE CHRONICLE OF THE MATCH
Even if the chaos remains for the Nerazzurri fans, with thousands of supporters kept out of the stadium or brought in with huge delays despite the regularly purchased tickets. Conceicao’s Portuguese tried but without great conviction, so much so that the various interventions by Onana during the 90′ were ordinary or little more, except for a right-footed shot by Uribe after 3′ which the Nigerian goalkeeper put in for a corner in dive. However, the best opportunity in the first half came to Inter, with a 3-on-2 counter-attack concluded by a left-footed shot from Dzeko which was well saved by Diogo Costa. Tension also reigned in the second half, in which Inzaghi lost Bastoni and Darmian due to muscle problems. The Nerazzurri coach then played the Lukaku card, hoping to be able to exploit the open spaces left by the Portuguese in search of an advantage: a move that didn’t work very well, however, because the Belgian appears to be a distant relative of the one seen in recent years in Milan.
Thus, the final was all in apnea for Inter, also due to the maxi-time recovery of 7′ granted by the Polish referee Marciniak. After almost 180 perfect round-trips, in the final minutes the Nerazzurri defense skidded dangerously in the assault on Porto. First Dumfries was decisive by clearing a shot from Marcano on the line to resolve a scrum in the box. Then it was Onana who took on the role of superhero, with a fundamental reflection on a close-range header from Taremi, which was also rejected with the help of the post. And the wood was also decisive shortly after, on another blow from Grujic, all with the Inter rearguard motionless. But it wasn’t enough for Conceicao’s men: celebrating on the lawn at Do Dragao is Simone Inzaghi’s Inter, who now have to relaunch themselves in the league as well because Sunday they are awaiting the big match against Juventus at the San Siro.
Manchester City-Leipzig 7-0, Guardiola in the quarterfinals
Manchester City beat Leipzig 7-0 (3-0) and qualified for the quarter-finals of the Champions League after a 1-1 draw in the first leg. Guardiola’s team starts very strong and unlocks with Haaland from a penalty. Less than two minutes later the Norwegian scores again. In recovery, the 3-0 goal is still his. In the second half the music does not change: Gundogan scores immediately, then Haaland twice more. De Bruyne closes it in the 92nd minute.
THE CHRONICLE OF THE MATCH
