Simone Inzaghi hailed his "historic" Inter Milan players after coming through an entertaining Champions League quarter-final second leg against Benfica to set up a blockbuster clash with city rivals AC Milan.
Leading 2-0 from the first leg in Lisbon, Inter were well on course for the semi-finals when Nicolo Barella gave the hosts a 14th-minute lead at the San Siro. Fredrik Aursnes pulled one back for Benfica to revive their slim hopes, but second-half goals from Lautaro Martinez and Joaquin Corera killed off the tie.
Benfica scored twice late, Antonio Silva and Petar Musa finding the net in the final few minutes, to conclude a thrilling encounter even if the result of the tie had long been settled as Inter reached the Champions League semis for the first time since they won the trophy 13 years ago.
Inter's continued success in Europe comes amid a poor run of league form as four defeats and a draw in their past five games has seen the Nerazzurri slip to fifth in the Serie A table.
"My boys? They were historic," Inter manager Inzaghi told Inter TV when asked about his players' performance. "It's historic, because of what they are doing, reaching both the Champions League and Coppa Italia semi-finals.
"We know that some points were left on the road in the Italian league, but it's most because of a crazy schedule.
"When we were drawn in a group with Bayern and Barcelona back in August, we were very, very far away."
Inter won Europe's top club competition for the third time in 2010 and were the last Italian side to triumph, with Juventus losing the 2015 and 2017 finals.
The Milan teams have met twice in the Champions League knockout stages, the 2002/03 semis and 2004/05 quarter-finals with AC Milan, seven-time European champions, winning both ties.
"We deserved to reach this semi-final. It was a dream but now we're here and we'll play it big," said Inzaghi.
"I'm happy for the lads and their journey. We started from a very difficult group with Bayern and Barca but we were good, united together with the fans, who helped us a lot.
"We work every day to live these days that have been missing here at Inter for many years. We know what this derby represents for everyone here. We are happy and we will play it in the best way."
Inter and AC Milan will clash at the San Siro in the first leg on May 10 and on May 16 in the second leg. The winners will face Real Madrid or Manchester City, who meet in the semi-finals for the second consecutive season.
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David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Cultural fiesta
What: The Al Burda Festival
When: November 14 (from 10am)
Where: Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi
The Al Burda Festival is a celebration of Islamic art and culture, featuring talks, performances and exhibitions. Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, this one-day event opens with a session on the future of Islamic art. With this in mind, it is followed by a number of workshops and “masterclass” sessions in everything from calligraphy and typography to geometry and the origins of Islamic design. There will also be discussions on subjects including ‘Who is the Audience for Islamic Art?’ and ‘New Markets for Islamic Design.’ A live performance from Kuwaiti guitarist Yousif Yaseen should be one of the highlights of the day.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
Race results:
1. Thani Al Qemzi (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi: 46.44 min
2. Peter Morin (FRA) CTIC F1 Shenzhen China Team: 0.91sec
3. Sami Selio (FIN) Mad-Croc Baba Racing Team: 31.43sec
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
RACE CARD
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 – Group 1 (PA) $65,000 (Dirt) 2,000m
7.05pm: Handicap (TB) $65,000 (Turf) 1,800m
7.40pm: Meydan Classic – Listed (TB) $88,000 (T) 1,600m
8.15pm: Nad Al Sheba Trophy – Group 3 (TB) $195,000 (T) 2,810m
8.50pm: Dubai Millennium Stakes – Group 3 (TB) $130,000 (T) 2,000m
9.25pm: Meydan Challenge – Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (T) 1,400m
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More on Quran memorisation:
Zayed Sustainability Prize
