Simone Inzaghi points out Inter came through the toughest group to reach the Champions League semi-final against Milan with a 5-3 aggregate win over Benfica. ‘I know where the criticism comes from.’
The Nerazzurri had a commanding 2-0 lead from the first leg in Lisbon and seemed to have the tie over and done with when Nicolò Barella curled a stunner into the far top corner.
Even when Benfica equalised, Lautaro Martinez broke his goal drought meeting a Federico Dimarco assist, who also set up substitute Tucu Correa for the 3-1 lead.
However, they got distracted late on, as Antonio Silva and Petar Musa struck in the final moments for 3-3 on the night.
Nonetheless, a 5-3 aggregate win books Inter’s first Champions League semi-final since the Treble in 2010 and it is against their city rivals Milan, a repeat of the 2003 clash.
“We are very happy, an important evening for all of Inter. We deserved it over the two legs against a team that had only lost two matches all season until then,” Inzaghi told Amazon Prime Video Italia.
“Now we are in the semi-final, it is a dream and we will give it our best. We overcame a very difficult group phase and were united to achieve that. We work to experience nights like this, which Inter had not enjoyed for many years.”
Their group draw was certainly the toughest, but they eliminated Barcelona with a 1-0 home win and 3-3 at Camp Nou, losing only to group winners Bayern Munich.
Despite this extraordinary achievement, there were still reports that Inzaghi would be sacked if he failed to get through this round due to the poor Serie A form.
“I know where the criticism comes from, those who speak well and those who speak badly, at times that criticism is suggested to them. I’ve been in football for many years and I am used to it. I work to make the fans happy.”
It was not the ideal performance considering they were held to a 3-3 draw, which will hit their rankings and bonuses for results.
“Antonio Silva did well for the 3-2 with a good goal, as for the 3-3 my lads heard a whistle and thought it was the end of the match. Despite that, it was a great game and the substitutions really helped. We deserve our place in the semi-final.”
Edin Dzeko again started upfront this evening rather than Romelu Lukaku, so is this dictated by fitness or tactics?
“The objective is to have all four strikers at our disposal and that has practically never happened. The fixture list has become just crazy, but I have to rotate the squad and they help me out.”
Inter are not only in the Champions League semi-final, but also the Coppa Italia semi-final with Juventus and the second leg is next week after a 1-1 draw in Turin.