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[ad_1] ROME: AC Milan and Inter Milan secured matching 2-0 victories over Roman clubs as they briefly swopped places in Serie A ahead of their Champions League semi-final clash. Milan briefly jumped from sixth to fourth, leapfrogging Inter, with a home victory over second-place Lazio in the early game. "We played a great game. Now there is plenty of time to recover ahead of the semi-final against Inter," said Milan coach Stefano Pioli . "Now let's think about the Champions League." Inter then jumped back to fourth when they won away at Roma, keeping Jose Mourinho's team outside the European places. Inter coach, Simone Inzaghi said the Champions League semi-final would be "a showdown played over 180 minutes." "We know what we have to do," he added. At the San Siro, Ismael Bennacer pounced on a loose ball in the Lazio area and thrashed his shot home to give AC Milan the lead in the 17th minute. After 29 minutes, wingback Th...

[ad_1] MILAN: Romelu Lukaku's return to sparkling form has given Inter Milan an extra weapon ahead of Tuesday's Champions League semi-final decider with AC Milan. Out for much of the season with injuries and with a damaged reputation following a disastrous World Cup, Lukaku has slowly worked his way back to his best. The Belgium striker has scored five times and set up three more in his last six matches and his double in Saturday's 4-2 win over Sassuolo highlighted his new-found confidence. Lukaku celebrated his 30th birthday by beginning and ending the scoring at the San Siro, spinning and lashing home the opener from the edge of the box shortly before half-time and drilling in his eighth league goal of the season just before the end. A striker in his sort of form should probably expect to be starting such a huge match on Tuesday, where Inter defend a 2-0 first leg lead in a bid to reach their first Champions League final since the last time they won it under...

[ad_1] ISTANBUL: Manchester City are huge favourites heading into Saturday's Champions League final against Inter Milan in Istanbul as Pep Guardiola's side aim to finally get their hands on the greatest prize in European club football, and complete a historic treble. City have been building towards this moment ever since the transformative 2008 takeover of the club by the Abu Dhabi United Group. They have become England's dominant force, winning seven Premier League titles in the last 12 seasons and following their latest triumph by claiming the FA Cup last weekend. It has happened just as they have become the club with the greatest revenues in world football according to analysts Deloitte, with income of 731 million euros ($788m) last season. Question marks surround their success, given that City were charged in February by the Premier League with 115 alleged breaches of its financial rules between 2009 and 2018. In Europe, meanwhile, City were banned for two...

[ad_1] MANCHESTER: Manchester City's time to conquer Europe may have finally come after Real Madrid were slayed by the English champions on Wednesday to reach their second Champions League final. City thrashed the Spanish giants 4-0 at the Etihad for a 5-1 aggregate victory that exacted revenge for a dramatic semi-final exit to Madrid 12 months ago. Pep Guardiola's men are not just closing in on the trophy the club's owners have desired since an Abu-Dhabi backed takeover in 2008 began pouring billions of pounds of investment into the club. Victory against Inter Milan in Istanbul next month could complete a treble of Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League, matching local rivals Manchester United's historic achievement in 1998/99. A fifth league title in six seasons appears a foregone conclusion with City needing a maximum of three points from their final three games. United will have their chance to protect their record as the only English club to do ...

[ad_1] MILAN: Inter Milan secured their place in next season's Champions League with a 3-2 win over Atalanta which showed some fine form heading into the final of Europe's top club competition next month. Simone Inzaghi's side rose to second in Serie A after winning the Italian Cup on Wednesday with an entertaining win over Atalanta after an early blitz from Romelu Lukaku and Nicolo Barella followed by Lautaro Martinez's simple finish in the 77th minute. Inter are eight points ahead of fifth-placed Atalanta, whose top-four hopes are now over for the season, and looked in fine fettle with English champions Manchester City awaiting them in Istanbul on June 10. Their win also means that fourth-placed AC Milan only need to avoid defeat at troubled Juventus to ensure their return to the Champions League after being knocked out in the semi-finals by their local rivals last week. "I knew what this match meant for the club, I'm really happy... The boys so...