Inter put one foot in the final of the Champions League by beating AC Milan 2-0 in the first leg of the semi-final at San Siro last night.
The game threatened to completely run away from Milan at various points, especially after the two early goals from Edin Dzeko and Henrikh Mkhitaryan which gave Stefano Pioli’s side a mountain to climb.
Mkhitaryan spoke to Prime Video at the end of the game, one which came with great personal satisfaction for him after he scored the second goal following a run down the middle that went virtually unopposed.
“From the first minute, right after Benfica, we have shown that we have a great desire to win this match. Congratulations to my team-mates but the match isn’t over yet, we’ll play at home and it will be a great battle,” he said (via MilanNews).
Could you have scored a third? “We have to be satisfied with these two goals, we’ll have to do it in the next match.”
Do you feel like you are in the final? “We don’t want to think about it, we want to be focused on the next game. We’ll see if we’ll reach the final or not. MVP? Thanks to my team-mates.”
Dzeko also had a good night as he again got on the scoresheet against Milan, getting to a corner before Davide Calabria to fire Inter into an early lead, and he spoke to Prime Video.
“I’m 37 but I feel good, that’s important. I felt fresher, maybe because I rested three days ago. The team was very busy, it doesn’t happen every year that we play a derby in the semi-final, we prepared for it well, we were concentrated right up to the end and this paid off,” he said (via MilanNews).
You played as a real team player: “Anyone who knows me knows that I am this. Sometimes maybe there aren’t goals, but I give so much more, not just goals. Even today I did a job for the team that is needed in these matches.”
When will you sign a renewal? “You have to ask them, it depends on them.”
A big part of the reason the Nerazzurri kept a clean sheet was because of Francesco Acerbi’s leadership at the back and the battles he mostly won against Olivier Giroud. The centre-back spoke to Sky.
“We had a few chances. We started badly in the second half, we could have conceded a goal. We have to be careful for the second leg, we took a small step but nothing more,” he said (via MilanNews).
Do you have one foot in Istanbul? “No, I don’t. I don’t think the team either and it would be a big mistake. As we scored, they can too. Tuesday will be a match like this.”
Leao might be back: “We know that Leao is an added value, he’s the best player they have. But it’s up to the group to do something not thought of at the beginning of the year.”
Finally, Lautaro Martinez might not have got his name on the scoresheet but he certainly made his contributions with hold-up play and tireless running of the channels.
“The truth is that we are very happy with the result and with the match. I think we started in the right way, we could have scored another goal. Now we have to recover energy and think about the return,” he told Prime Video (via MilanNews).
Where did you win the game? “Through our attitude, we started very well, we pressed them well, we didn’t retreat. It was what we had prepared during the week, it’s certainly a good result but the comeback is still missing.”
You didn’t score but you helped a lot: “Always, happy because when I don’t score, I try to give my teammates a hand. Today we had to run, at one point I got cramps but I didn’t care. The team has understood how these matches are played, now we have to think about the championship and then the second leg.”
