2023-05-16 02:12:17

Inter and Milan face each other this Tuesday from 16, in the second leg of the 2022-2023 Champions League semifinals, a classic that will define the first finalist of the competition. The “Nerazzurri” arrive with a valuable advantage of two goals that they will try to defend to seal their ticket to Istanbul, against some “Rossoneri” who will have to come back to return to a continental final 16 years later.

The city derby will be held at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium and It will be televised on ESPN, Fox Sports and Star+.

The cast led by Simone Inzaghi, with Lautaro Martínez as the starter and the entry of Joaquín Correa, surprised from the beginning in the first game of the series with two goals in 11 minutes and remained the great favorite to advance to the final on June 10 in Istanbul, Türkiye.

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— Inter (@Inter) May 15, 2023

Martínez and Correa will seek to ensure the Argentine presence in the great definition that will be completed on Wednesday with the matched 1-1 draw between Manchester City, by Julián Álvarez, against the current champion, Real Madrid, in England.

The last Argentine to star in a Champions League final was Sergio “Kun” Agüero with Manchester City in 2021.

The “Toro”, Inter’s captain and scorer in Serie A with 20 goals, and Correa from Tucumán will try to emulate what Javier Zanetti, Walter Samuel, Esteban Cambiasso and Diego Milito achieved thirteen years ago under the leadership of the Portuguese José Mourinho.

The 25-year-old from Bahia is the world champion who has scored the most goals (16) since the historic December 18, 2022 in Qatar and has already become captain and benchmark of the team led by Simone Inzaghi.

In the current Champions League, Martínez scored two goals but dreams of breaking out as happened with Milito, his benchmark at Racing and Inter, who scored one in the semifinal against Barcelona and a double in the final against Bayern Munich at the Santiago Bernabéu.

The great present of the scorer also left a strong rumor that links him as a possible reinforcement of two Premier League clubs such as Chelsea and Manchester United.

On the other hand, Milan will try to show off its historical pride of being the second most winning team in the “Orejona” with seven trophies to overcome the series.

The “rossonero” was hit after the 2-0 defeat in the first leg, since on Saturday he lost again in Serie A and complicated his participation in the next edition of the most important tournament in Europe.

The team led by Stefano Pioli fell 2-0 against Spezia, as a visitor, and after the game, the DT and several footballers, approached the header where the fans were to apologize and listen to the demands of the “ultras”.

Despite being the last champion of Italy until two dates ago, the elimination in the semifinals and the possibility of not selecting the next Champions League could complicate the future of the team.

The good news for the visit is that they will be able to have Portuguese striker Rafael Leao from the start, who missed the first leg due to a muscle injury, and hopes to recover the Bosnian Rade Krunic and the Brazilian Messias.