Closed. With a note from Romelu LukakuInter Milan beat Porto 1-0 in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16.
By: Luis Imana
After much suffering and push that Inter Milan They respected the house and defeated Porto by the narrowest margin in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16.
Despite the home side being in their favour, the side led by Simone Inzaghi faced a rival who fought them from start to finish. The Nerazzurri’s attacking duo, consisting of Lautaro Martínez and Dzeko, was stopped by the Portuguese, who did a great job in defence.
Diogo Costa He showed one of his best versions under the three sticks and let Inter’s multiple arrivals in easy tries. The “Blue Dragons” also managed to get the Inter goal more than once, but Andre Onana’s interventions prevented a goal that could silence Giuseppe Meazza.
However, Porto’s wall suffered some cracks in the second half. One of the main factors in the Italian team’s triumph was the participation of Romelu Lukaku, who came on at 58′ in place of Dzeko and scored the only goal of the game, but not before Otavio was sent off at 78′ for his second yellow card in the match Game.
The Portuguese midfielder’s departure thwarted Conceicao’s plan while Buffalo capitalized on numerical superiority. At 86th, the Belgian attacker received a cross from Nicholas Barella into the penalty area to connect with a header and the ball bounced off the post; However, the rebound landed at the feet of Lukaku, who mercilessly broke through the nets of the Portuguese team.
With this goal, Romelu has gradually regained his football version after scoring in Inter’s last game in the Italian league in a 3-1 win over Udinese.
In addition, Inter scored their third consecutive home win for the Champions League. The Nerazzurri have not lost at home to Bayern Munich in the European tournament since September 2022.
The win wasn’t easy for the team playing in the A league and this was acknowledged by Inzaghi, who confessed that its leaders had a tough challenge against the “blue dragons”.
“Today we had a physical and technical opponent. Onana and Skriniar were very good against them. We scored a goal, we wanted more, but we’re happy because we played a great game,” explained the Nerazzurri strategist, who also downplayed the heated discussion Onana had with Dzeko on the pitch.
Next to, Sergio Conceicaothe Porto manager, aware that the key remains open, is confident his coaches can stage a comeback at home in the second leg.
Impact. Otavio was sent off for a double yellow card. Photo: EFE
“We were at the level of this competition. If we had a draw I would think it was short. It’s the break and we still have 90 minutes to play in Dragão. Let’s think about Gil Vicente now,” said the Portuguese team coach.
In this way, Inter Milan builds on its encouraging record against Porto (3 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss) and now prepares for the complicated duel that will determine the team that qualifies for the quarter-finals that will be played on Tuesday, March , taking place 14 at Dragao Stadium.
Did you know…
gone back Romelu Lukaku had not scored in a UEFA Champions League win against him since October 2022 Pilsen.
Can not. Porto continue at the Giuseppe Meazza without clinching a win or draw from Inter