Big Match Feature: Inter v Milan

Inter Milan, the last Italian side to win the UEFA Champions League, are well placed to return to the final for the first time since that triumph 13 years ago as they take on neighbours AC Milan in their semifinal second leg holding a 2-0 advantage. Catch the action live on SuperSport and Showmax Pro.

Edin Džeko (8) and Henrikh Mkhitaryan (11) both struck early in the first leg at San Siro, the ground the teams share, as the away side claimed a first European victory against their city rivals. Hakan Çalhanoglu also hit the woodwork for Inter in the first period, with Sandro Tonali's second-half shot against the outside of the post the closest Milan came to a response.

Milan have won both previous contests on aggregate against their neighbours, including at this stage of their victorious 2002-03 campaign.

Inter are in the last four for the first time since claiming their third European Cup in 2009-10 while Milan have reached a first semifinal in 16 seasons – although they have a proud record to draw on having won eight of their last nine contests at this stage.

The Rossoneri are also taking part in a second successive all-Italian tie, having knocked out recently crowned Serie A champions Napoli in the quarterfinals; Inter overcame Portuguese pair Porto and Benfica to set up this tie, also winning the first leg 2-0 away in the latter contest.

Inter have scored 198 goals in the Uefa Champions League, group stage to final. Only 15 clubs have reached the 200 mark, including Milan (252).

Milan have never lost an away fixture against Italian opposition in Uefa competition, winning two and drawing four of their previous six matches.

Previous meetings

This is the sides' third Uefa Champions League tie, Milan having won each of the first two on their way to reaching the final.

In the 2002-03 semifinals, Héctor Cúper's Inter drew 0-0 in the first leg for which they were the designated away team, Andriy Shevchenko (45+1) breaking the deadlock in the tie with Milan's opener in the return. Obafemi Martins' 84th-minute strike levelled on the night but Inter were unable to score again and bowed out on away goals.

Carlo Ancelotti's Milan went on to beat another Italian side, Juventus, 3-2 on penalties after the final at Old Trafford had finished goalless.

Shevchenko was again on target in the 2004-05 quarter-final between the clubs, his 74th-minute strike adding to a first-half goal from Jaap Stam (45+1) as Ancelotti's Milan claimed a 2-0 home first-leg win against Roberto Mancini's Inter. They progressed after being awarded a 3-0 forfeit victory in the return.

The Rossoneri got the better of PSV Eindhoven in the last four but then lost a remarkable final in Istanbul, going down 3-2 to Liverpool on penalties after a 3-3 draw in which Milan had been three goals up at halftime.

The sides have met in 220 previous fixtures, Inter winning 82 – including four of the last five – and Milan 71 with 67 draws.

Both Serie A matches this season were won by the home side, a Rafael Leão double (28, 60) helping Milan to a 3-2 success at San Siro on 3 September. Olivier Giroud (54) scored the Rossoneri's second goal, with Marcelo Brozovic (21) and Džeko (67) on target for Inter.

Inter's Lautaro Martínez scored the only goal of the reverse fixture on 5 February.

The Nerazzurri had also beaten their local rivals 3-0 in the Italian Super Cup on 18 January thanks to goals from Federico Dimarco (10), Džeko (21) and Martínez (77).

Inter also won the last two-legged contest between the clubs, running out 3-0 victors in last season's Coppa Italia semi-finals. After a 0-0 draw in the away first leg, two first-half Martínez goals (4, 40) in the return put Inter in charge, Robin Gosens completing the win with a third eight minutes from time.

That was the sides' eighth Coppa Italia two-legged knockout tie and Inter's third win to their neighours' five. Milan also beat Inter 2-0 in the one-off final in July 1977.

This is the 31st Uefa Champions League knockout tie between clubs from the same country, Milan's quarterfinal against Napoli having been the first since Chelsea beat Manchester City 1-0 in the 2021 final.

Milan have featured in – and won – all four of the previous all-Italian contests, beating Inter in 2003 and 2005, Juventus in the 2003 final and Napoli in this season's quarterfinals.

This is the 17th all-Italian tie in Uefa club competition; Milan's tie with Napoli was the first since Fiorentina's 4-1 aggregate win against Roma in the 2014-15 UEFA Europa League round of 16 (1-1 h, 3-0 a).

Form guide

Inter

Inter's record in European Cup semi-finals is W5 L3:
- 1963-64 Borussia Dortmund W 4-2 (2-2 a, 2-0 h)
- 1964-65 Liverpool W 4-3 (1-3 a, 3-0 h)
- 1965-66 Real Madrid L 1-2 (0-1 a, 1-1 h)
- 1966-67 CSKA Sofia W 1-0 replay (1-1 h, 1-1 a)
- 1971-72 Celtic W 5-4 on penalties (0-0 h, 0-0 a)
- 1980-81 Real Madrid L 1-2 (0-2 a, 1-0 h)
- 2002-03 AC Milan L 1-1 away goals (0-0 a, 1-1 h)
- 2009-10 Barcelona W 3-2 (3-1 h, 0-1 a)

After winning four of their first five last-four ties, the Nerazurri have one victory in the last three.

Inter are now level with Ajax on nine European Cup semifinals; only seven clubs have featured in more.

This is the Nerazzurri's 16th Uefa Champions League campaign and a fifth in a row, their longest run since they appeared for ten successive seasons between 2002/03 and 2011-12. This is their 12th appearance in the knockout stage.

Simone Inzaghi's side ended the club's run of three successive group stage eliminations last term by finishing second behind Real Madrid in group D; Inter recovered after taking only one point from their first two fixtures to finish on ten and reach the round of 16 for the first time since 2011-12.

Inter's campaign ended in the first knockout round, however, despite a 1-0 second-leg win at Liverpool, the damage having been done by a 2-0 loss in the first game in Milan.

Inter were second in Serie A in 2021-22, finishing two points behind Milan.

This season Inter's group C campaign started and finished with 2-0 defeats against Bayern München, but they remained unbeaten in between those losses, collecting 10 points including a decisive four against Barcelona (1-0 h, 3-3 a) and wrapping up progress with a 4-0 success at home to Viktoria Plzen on matchday five.

The Milan club then edged past Porto in the round of 16, winning 1-0 in Milan before holding out for a goalless draw in Portugal, and overcame another Portuguese side in the last eight, a 2-0 first-leg win at Benfica preceding a 3-3 draw in Milan in which Inter led 3-1 until the 86th minute.

The win against Porto is one of only six in Inter's last 17 Uefa Champions League home games (D6 L5), although five of those have come in their last eight matches (D1 L2).

Inter have kept clean sheets in seven of their last 10 Uefa Champions League matches, including four of the five in this season's knockout phase.

Inter have won five and lost four of their 12 games against Italian clubs in Uefa competition; at home it is W3 D1 L1. Aside from their two ties against Milan, they have played three two-legged contests, all in the Uefa Cup, and won them all. They beat Atalanta in the 1990-91 quarterfinals (0-0 a, 2-0 h) and Roma in the final the same season (2-0 h, 0-1 a), also overcoming Cagliari in the 1993-94 semifinals (2-3 a, 3-0 h) en route to recapturing the trophy.

Inter's record in two-legged ties against Italian clubs is, therefore, W3 L2, both defeats coming against Milan.

The Nerazzurri also beat Lazio 3-0 in the 1998 Uefa Cup final at Parc des Princes in Paris.

Inter have won 18 of the 19 Uefa competition ties in which they have triumphed away from home in the first leg, including five times out of six by a 2-0 scoreline, most recently against Benfica in this season's quarter-finals (3-3 h). Their only aggregate defeat came in the third round of the 1988-89 Uefa Cup against Bayern München, when a Nerazzurri side containing Lothar Mathäus and Andreas Brehme, both recently recruited from Bayern, followed a 2-0 win in Munich with a 1-3 defeat in Milan and exited on away goals.

Inter's record in four Uefa penalty shootouts is W2 L2:
- 5-4 v Celtic, 1971-72 European Cup semi-final
- 3-4 v Aston Villa, 1994-95 UEFA Cup first round
- 5-3 v Grazer AK, 1996-97 UEFA Cup second round
- 1-4 v Schalke, 1996-97 UEFA Cup final

Milan

This is Milan's 13th European Cup semi-final; their record is W9 L3:
- 1955-56 Real Madrid L 4-5 (2-4 a, 2-1 h)
- 1957-58 Manchester United W 5-2 (1-2 a, 4-0 h)
- 1962-63 Dundee L 5-2 (5-1 h, 0-1 a)
- 1968-69 Manchester United W 2-1 (2-0 h, 0-1 a)
- 1988-89 Real Madrid W 6-1 (1-1 a, 5-0 h)
- 1989-90 Bayern München W 2-2 away goals (1-0 h, 1-2 a aet)
- 1993-94 Monaco W 3-0 (h)
- 1994-95 Paris Saint Germain W 3-0 (1-0 a, 2-0 h)
- 2002-23 Inter Milan W 1-1 away goals (0-0 h, 1-1 a)
- 2004-05 PSV Eindhoven W 3-3 away goals (2-0 h, 1-3 a)
- 2005-06 Barcelona L 0-1 (0-1 h, 0-0 a)
- 2006-07 Manchester United W 5-3 (2-3 a, 3-0 h)

Only Real Madrid (32), Bayern (20) and Barcelona (17) have featured in more semifinals than Milan's 13.

This is Milan's seventh last-four appearance in the Uefa Champions League era, matching Juventus's Italian record.

The Rossoneri have won eight of their last nine semifinal ties.

Having ended their seven-year absence from the Uefa Champions League group stage in 2021-22, this is Milan's second successive campaign and 19th overall, four behind the Italian record held by Juventus.

Last season Stefano Pioli's side finished bottom of Group B behind Liverpool, Atlético de Madrid and Porto having collected four points, their sole victory a 1-0 success in Madrid on matchday five.

That was the first time Milan had failed to qualify from the initial group stage in a Uefa Champions League campaign since 1999-00, ending a run of 12 straight successes.

Seven times champions of Europe, most recently in 2007, the Rossoneri have been eliminated in the round of 16 in five of their seven Uefa Champions League campaigns since that triumph.

Milan are the only Italian side to win the Uefa Champions League more than once having triumphed in 1994, 2003 and 2007. They were also beaten finalists in 1993, 1995 and 2005.

Pioli's team responded to last season's early European exit by winning the Serie A title, the club's 19th league championship – putting them level with Inter – and a first since 2010-11.

This season, Milan picked up ten points in group E to finish three behind Chelsea – who beat them 3-0 at Stamford Bridge and 2-0 at San Siro – clinching second place thanks to 4-0 victories in each of their last two games, at Dinamo Zagreb and at home to Salzburg. Those wins equalled the club's biggest margins of victory in the Uefa Champions League.

They then edged past Tottenham in the round of 16, Brahim Díaz's seventh-minute strike in the first leg at San Siro proving to be the only goal of the tie.

Milan squeezed past Napoli in the quarter-finals, winning 1-0 in the home first leg thanks to Ismaël Bennacer's 40th-minute strike. Olivier Giroud extended the aggregate advantage two minutes before half-time in the Naples second leg, Milan holding on despite conceding an equaliser on the night in added time.

Milan had not let in a goal in 596 minutes of Uefa Champions League football before Napoli's late equaliser on Matchday 10.

Despite beating Dinamo Zagreb twice in this season's group stage and Salzburg once before their first-leg victories against Spurs and Napoli, Milan have won only seven of their last 24 Uefa Champions League games (D7 L10). The matchday five win at Dinamo is one of just three in 13 away games, group stage to final (D4 L6).

The Rossoneri have not won an away Uefa Champions League knockout game since a 2-0 victory at Bayern in the 2006-07 quarterfinal second leg; their subsequent record is D4 L6.

Milan have won five of their 12 games against Italian clubs in Uefa competition, the first leg of this tie just their second defeat. The only other reverse came against Parma in the second leg of the 1994 Uefa Super Cup (1-0 a, 0-2 h).

That is also Milan's only aggregate defeat in their five two-legged ties against Serie A sides. In addition to their Uefa Champions League wins against Inter in 2003 and 2005 and this season's success against Napoli, they beat Sampdoria in the 1990 Uefa Super Cup (1-1 a, 2-0 h).

The Rossoneri also defeated Juventus on penalties in the 2003 Uefa Champions League final at Old Trafford.

Of the eight previous occasions Milan have lost the first leg at home in Uefa competition, they have won only once, against Saarbrücken in the 1955-56 European Cup first round, their first European tie, when a 4-3 defeat in Italy was followed by a 4-1 away success. Milan have lost all three aggregate contests following a 2-0 home first leg defeat, against Barcelona in the 1959-60 European Cup first round (1-5 a), Espanyol in the 1987-88 Uefa Cup second round (0-0 a) and Arsenal in the 2017/18 Uefa Europa League round of 16 (1-3 a).

Milan's record in six Uefa penalty shoot-outs is W5 L1:
- 7-6 v Lokomotíva Košice, 1978-79 Uefa Cup first round
- 4-2 v Crvena zvezda, 1988-89 European Cup second round
- 3-2 v Roda JC, 2001-02 Uefa Cup fourth round
- 3-2 v Juventus, 2002-03 Uefa Champions League final
- 2-3 v Liverpool, 2004-05 Uefa Champions League final
- 9-8 v Rio Ave, 2020-21 Uefa Europa League qualifying playoffs