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[ad_1] LISBON: Inter Milan put one foot into the Champions League semi-finals with a comfortable 2-0 win at Benfica on Tuesday, with Nicolo Barella and Romelu Lukaku netting in Lisbon. The Italians, three-time winners, took a commanding quarter-final first leg lead at the Estadio da Luz, inflicting Benfica's first defeat in the competition. After an even first half, Barella headed home from Alessandro Bastoni's cross and substitute Romelu Lukaku netted the second from the penalty spot late on. Roger Schmidt's Benfica, aiming to reach the semi-finals for the first time since 1990, were not able to put a glove on the visitors, who controlled the pace of the game. Despite Inter's poor form, they conjured a patient, professional display when they needed it most. Having scored two goals in their previous five games across all competitions, they managed the same tally in Lisbon with clinical finishing. "It's been one of our best games this season,"

[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] MILAN: Getting Inter Milan to Saturday's Champions League final is the latest achievement in Simone Inzaghi's understated managerial career which has highlighted his ability to perform against the odds. Inzaghi, 47, spent his playing career firmly in the shadow of his older brother Filippo, a prolific goalscorer for Italy's biggest clubs, a two-time European champion and World Cup winner. The younger Inzaghi, also a striker, played most of his career for Lazio, where he is loved by fans despite a modest goal record and a single league title won 23 years ago. However in the managerial game it is Simone who is leading the way, at the helm of one of Europe's traditional powerhouses while Filippo slogs about in the lower leagues. And now he has a chances of winning the biggest honour the club game has to offer, just as his brother did as a player in 2003 and 2007 with Inter's local rivals AC Milan. "It's my most important ever match, but I

[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

[ad_1] MILAN: French international striker Marcus Thuram signed for Inter Milan on a free transfer on Saturday, the Serie A club announced. Son of 1998 World Cup winner Lilian Thuram, the 25-year-old signed a five-year deal with last season's Champions League finalists worth a reported 6.5 million euros ($7.1 million) a season. Inter secured his services on the back of his most successful season for Bundesliga side Borussia Moenchengladbach in which he scored 13 goals – he became a free agent at the end of the campaign. "Marcus Thuram signs for Inter," read a statement on the club's website. "The forward, who was born in 1997, joins the Nerazzurri following four seasons with Borussia Moenchengladbach." Thuram will play up front alongside Lautaro Martinez after picking the country of his birth rather than Paris Saint-Germain , replacing veteran Edin Dzeko who signed for Turkish giants Fenerbahce last week. He was born in Parma where his father