Champions League | Inter hold on to Porto and return to the Champions League quarterfinals 12 years later

After a game marked by caution in the first half and despair in the final moments, the Milanese team ended up prevailing thanks to a defensive game that annulled the onslaught of Porto. In this way, the ‘Nerazzurri’ reach the quarterfinals of the top European competition for the first time since the 2010/2011 season, when they defended the title won in the previous edition.

For Porto, the return began to get complicated even before the kick-off. The Center Veteran Pepe was low at the last minute, which expanded the list of unavailable starters, along with the injured João Mário and the suspended Otávio. The minimal advantage obtained at San Siro led Simone Inzaghi to adopt a prudent strategywaiting for the opponent to make a mistake.

For his part, Sérgio Conceição, a former Inter player and Inzaghi’s teammate at Lazio, once again opted for pressure, although in the first half he was not as successful as in the first leg. And it is that the ‘nerazzurri’ prevented the blue and white defense from establishing a connection with the pieces in the center of the field, which provoked several shouts from the Portuguese coach demanding greater speed in the passes.

while tol Porto had a hard time finding spaces, Inter hardly threatened the opposite goal. The Milanese team still created a few moments of danger, especially through Dumfries, the most active of the eleven in the first half, but, except for a shot from Dzeko, Diogo Costa did not have to intervene as often.

The ‘dragons’ finally found their game as the break approached, and only missed the goal thanks to a cut by Dimarco. But once they found the accelerator, the Porto players exceeded the speed limit and allowed Inter to take advantage of their lack of control. A loss of the ball by Uribe due to distraction near his goal led Lautaro Martínez to threaten, but without success. After 45 minutes asking for intensity, Conceição now asked for calm.

With time already against you, Porto returned to the second half in search of a goal, and Uribe, in search of redemption for his mistake, sent a ball to the crossbar. After 70 minutes of caution, both coaches decided to retouch their teams in favor of attacking, with the entry of players like the Belgian Romelu Lukako from Inter or the Spanish Toni Martínez from Porto.

The changes brought the ‘dragons’ up, but the duel only heated up in the final bars. Between a rock and a hard place, Porto tried by all means to tie the tie and was even on the verge of achieving it. In added time, Dumfries saved Marcano’s shot on the line; a few seconds later, Mehdi Taremi hit the post and, on the next play, Grucic smashed a ball into the crossbar. In despair, Pepê received his second yellow card and was sent off, ending Porto’s Champions League hopes and sealing Inter’s pass.