Inter in dreamland

Inter Milan reached its first Champions League final in more than a decade with a 1-0 victory against city rival AC Milan on Tuesday.

Inter had a 2-0 lead from the first leg of the semifinal and Lautaro Martinez's 74th-minute goal ended any hope for Milan to stage a comeback.

Several players from both teams fell to the ground in tears at the final whistle as the Nerazzurri won the so-called "Euroderby" 3-0 on aggregate to progress to their first final since they won the league, Italian Cup and Champions League under Jose Mourinho in 2010. The Champions League final will be played at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul on June 10.

Inter players and staff celebrated for long afterward with their fans, singing and dancing in front of the Curva Nord in an electric atmosphere at San Siro — the stadium that both teams share.

"It's obviously a great emotion, a dream that I had together with the guys, that we nurtured right from when the draw was made," Inter coach Simone Inzaghi said. "We had to believe in ourselves and we have got here by merit, no one has gifted us anything.

"We had a long road, with difficulties but I think we earned it. I think probably from tomorrow we'll realize more what we have done. But it's a wonderful night with the fans, with our family, you can't ask for anything more."

Martinez, Inter's captain, hailed the cohesion of his team.

"What counts is the squad. I experienced it at the World Cup (with Argentina)," he said. "It makes it easy if you have a united squad with everyone pulling in the same direction. It means you get to play these very important matches in the best possible way."

He added: "After winning the World Cup and experiencing what is the pinnacle for a player, I knew we could reach this final, and we did it."

For Milan, the lengthy wait goes on. It last reached the showpiece event in 2007, when it won the last of its seven titles.

"At the moment there's only disappointment, there's only disappointment because we could have been in a Champions League final," Milan coach Stefano Pioli said. "But if we consider that last year we went out in the group stage and this year we managed to reach the semifinals we can and should be proud.

"But it's clear we dreamed of reaching the final, we wanted the final, we wanted to beat our rivals."

Milan was able to welcome back Rafael Leao. He missed last week's loss with a thigh injury and the Rossoneri were hoping he would inspire them to do the same.

The difference was immediately apparent as Milan played with an intensity it sorely lacked in the first leg amid a frantic start from both teams.

Brahim Diaz saw a weak shot comfortably smothered by Inter goalkeeper Andre Onana early on before Leao almost got Milan back into it with his first clear sight of goal, shortly before halftime. The winger sprinted into the left of the area but his angled drive grazed the outside of the far post.

Inter also had its chances to score the goal that would have all but killed the tie off as Henrikh Mkhitaryan fired over the bar, while Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan pulled off a brilliant quick-reaction save to keep out an Edin Dzeko header from close range.

Inter sealed its place in the final when Martinez made his way into left side of the area and exchanged passes with Romelu Lukaku — who had come on for Dzeko less than 10 minutes earlier — before firing in at the near post.

It was that same formidable attacking partnership that fired Inter to the Serie A title two years ago, earning the duo the nickname "LuLa".

"The biggest regret is the first 10 minutes of the first leg when we conceded two goals in three, four minutes," Pioli said. "And also not scoring tonight when we had the chances … that would have given us the enthusiasm, the energy, the extra confidence that could have helped us open up the match."

Agencies