Confident Inter to face archrivals AC Milan in Champions League semifinal 2nd leg

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) – Confident after a 2-0 win in the first leg, Inter Milan will face archrivals AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League semifinal second leg on Tuesday.

"We are confident. This is the most important game of our season," Inter head coach Simone Inzaghi said at a press conference on Monday.

"... Tomorrow is one of the biggest matches in Inter's history. We come into it with a deserved lead, (and) we will come out and play to the best of our abilities," Inzaghi said of the second leg.

AC Milan is a "dangerous team," and Inter should do their best against archrivals to reach the Champions League final, he said.

"We know we have an advantage, but we have achieved nothing yet. We have to have effort, aggression and determination and with all that we can be confident," the Nerazzurri head coach added.

On May 10, Inter triumphed with a 2-0 win against AC Milan in the Milan derby. Edin Dzeko and Henrikh Mkhitaryan were the scorers for Inter in the first leg.

The second leg at Giuseppe Meazza will begin at 1900GMT.

The stadium is shared by AC Milan and Inter for over seven decades.

AC Milan dubbed it San Siro, but Inter named it Giuseppe Meazza.

San Siro is a Milan district, while Giuseppe Meazza is an Inter legend who played for the Nerazzurri from 1927 to 1940, with a brief stint in AC Milan.

- 'Milan can still reach final'

Despite losing to Inter in the first leg, AC Milan head coach Stefano Pioli is optimistic, saying his team can "turn it around."

"We have a clear objective, which is to win the tie, therefore we can still reach the final. Nobody predicted that we'd be at this stage of the competition, not least the final, but I know how good my players are. Some outstanding feats have been achieved; one needs to believe and we do," Pioli said.

He added that Milan are focused on displaying a better performance in the second leg.

Seven-time winners, AC Milan last won the Champions League title in 2007, while Inter last secured Europe's top-tier club trophy in 2010.

The winner of this tie will face either Manchester City or Real Madrid in final, which will be played at Istanbul's Ataturk Olympic Stadium on June 10.

The second leg of the other semifinal will be held on Wednesday, with England's Manchester City hosting reigning champions Real Madrid after a 1-1 draw last week in the Spanish capital.

Two brilliant goals were scored in the thriller at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. Vinicius Junior scored the opener for Real Madrid, but Kevin De Bruyne earned Man City a draw.

Real Madrid, the 2022 winners, are also the record holders with 14 Champions League titles.

Manchester City, the 2021 runners-up, have never won the Champions League.