Welcome to the live blog for the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final between Inter Milan and AC Milan at the legendary Stadio Giuseppe Meazza (San Siro).
Inter Milan come into the game with a 2-0 lead over their city rivals, thanks to goals from Edin Dzeko and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the first leg. We will be presenting the line-ups of both sides shortly. Stay tuned.
Inter Milan have named an unchanged line-up from the first leg while AC Milan have made two changes to the side that lost to the Nerazzurri last week. Junior Messias comes in for Ismael Bennacer who was forced off with a knee injury in the first leg and Rafael Leao returns from injury to replace Alexis Saelemaekers on the wings for the Rossoneri.
Inter Milan will be lining up in a 5-3-2 formation when in possession while AC Milan will be in a 4-2-3-1 formation for the latest edition of ‘Derby della Madonnina’.
Both teams have finished shaking hands with each other and the officials and are now preparing for kick-off.
1′ – Inter Milan get us underway and immediately win a throw in which will be taken by Denzel Dumfries.
2′ – Dumfries tries to make headway down the right flank once again for the hosts but is unable to get past AC Milan’s Theo Hernandez before giving away a cheap free-kick on the edge of the visitors’ box.
3′ – Chance for Inter as Nicolo Barella gets into the box and tries to cushion a header into the path of an onrushing Edin Dzeko but the Italian midfielder is pulled back for a foul.
5′ – Milan have their first attempt of the night through a long-range free-kick that Hernandez blasts towards Andre Onana’s goal but the shot skims the roof of the net.
10′ – Junior Messias digs out a deep cross in hopes of finding Olivier Giroud at the far post and Frenchman nods it into the path of Brahim Diaz while under pressure from Onana but the latter is unable to capitalise and Matteo Darmian clears it away.
11′ – Sandro Tonali shakes off his marker and gets to the by line before cutting the ball back for Diaz to hit first time but Onana produces a great save to deny the Milan man.
12′ – End to end stuff as Inter attack with Dzeko feeding the ball to Dumfries who plays it into the path Barella to shoot first time. AC Milan custodian Mike Maignan makes a good save before seeing the linesman’s flag up for offside.
15′ – Tonali sends another AC Milan corner in from the right but Dzeko is on hand to head it away from immediate danger for the hosts.
18′ – Federico Dimarco wins a free-kick for the Inter Milan after being pulled back by Messias as Simone Inzaghi’s side look to play out from the back. Dimarco will be key for the Nerazzuri, having bagged five assists in the competition this season already.
21′ – Lautaro Martinez does well to beat AC Milan players in his own half before breaking with intent but is brought down by Tonali immediately for a free-kick to Inter Milan.
24′ – Dzeko gets the balls and tries to set it up for Henrikh Mkhitaryan to shoot from the edge of the box but the latter’s shot is well over the target.
25′ – Inter Milan threaten once again as Dzeko combines with Dumfries, who tries to play a low cross in for Martinez that is cleared by Malick Thiaw for a Nerazzuri corner.
29′ – Inter Milan float another corner in that is punched out of the penalty box by Maignan with conviction but only as far as Barella to recycle and cross for Martinez, which is blocked by Rade Krunic.
30′ – AC Milan have enjoyed more of the possession in the opening 30 minutes but have only managed to have two attempts so far in this game. Still, this is an improvement from the opening half hour from the first-leg a week ago.
35′ – Into the final ten regulation minutes of the first half and still all to play for between these two European giants.
37′ – Leao goes on a mazy run before getting beyond Darmian and tries to squeeze his shot in the far post but the effort goes narrowly wide of the target.
39′ – Hakan Çalhanoğlu’s free-kick into the AC Milan penalty box is nodded towards the goal by Dzeko but Maignan reacts rapidly to get a hand on the ball and keep his clean sheet intact for now.
42′ – Mkhitaryan appears to be in some discomfort as Martinez and Inzaghi discuss a possible substitution. After much contemplation, the decision is made to take the Armenian off and he is replaced by Marcelo Brozovic.
43′ – Brozovic’s introduction into the game means Çalhanoğlu will probably move further forward into the midfield space that Mkhitaryan was occupying so far.
44′ – Milan try to execute a fast break which results in Francesco Acerbi blocking an effort from Leao but the second ball falls for Diaz to volley and his effort is blocked as well by Inter Milan as the fourth official indicates three minutes of added time.
45+1′ – Dumfries tries to pounce on an error by Hernandez but the Dutchman is unable to get the ball to a teammate and AC Milan recover possession.
45+3′ – The referee blows his whistle for half-time at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
HALF-TIME – INTER MILAN 0 – 0 AC MILAN
AC Milan have it all to do in the final 45 minutes of this tie as Inter Milan appear to be more than content to defend in numbers and try and hit the Rossoneri on the counter.
Both sides have have decent chances so far but Brahim Diaz will probably be kicking himself for not opening the scoring in the 11th minute. We will be back shortly for the second-half. Stay tuned.
46′ – We are off and running for the second-half of the this enthralling football match. Inter Milan still hold all the cards with a 2-0 lead from the first leg.
47′ – Martinez tees the ball up for Dimarco to volley towards goal but Thiaw puts his body in the way of the effort to block it.
48′ – AC Milan have only scored three goals in the knockout stages of this year’s UEFA Champions League and all of them have come in the first-half of games. The Rossoneri will need to change this statistic if they are to keep their European dream alive.
49′ – Çalhanoğlu wins a free-kick after being brought down by Thiaw but Inter Milan are not too keen to play the ball into the AC Milan box.
52′ – Acerbi appears to catch Tonali inside the AC Milan penalty area and immediately has his hands up to apologise. A quick VAR check allows the Inter Milan to escape without any punishment though.
56′ – Thiaw becomes the first player to have his name taken by the referee after he fouls Martinez to stop a potential Inter Milan counter-attack.
58′ – Inter Milan looking by far the better side in the opening stages of the second half as the game opens up further. Stefano Pioli could be considering making some changes soon.
59′ – Dimarco sticks a leg out to bring down AC Milan skipper Davide Calabria, who asks for the Inter Milan wing-back to be booked for the challenge but in vain.
61′ – Messias cuts in on his left foot and tries to play a lofted pass into the Inter Milan box but the pass goes out for a goal kick, much to Giroud’s frustration.
64′ – Thiaw is struggling with cramp and is replaced by Pierre Kalulu for AC Milan’s first change of the night.
65′ – AC Milan are not being able to break down Inter Milan’s robust defending Inzaghi prepares a double substitution.
66′ – Dzeko and Dimarco make way for Romelu Lukaku and Robin Gosens for the final 25 minutes plus additional time of the second half.
67′ – Leao tries to use is quick feet to get into the Inter Milan box but is unable to get past Acerbi, who manages to get a goal kick out of the situation for the Nerazzuri.
69′ – Diaz tries to make something happen for AC Milan with a cushioned header towards Messias inside the Inter Milan box but it falls kindly for Onana, who snuffs out the attack with relative ease.
71′ – Acerbi ventures forward before having a pop from distance but the effort picks up a deflection and allows Maignan to make a routine catch.
74′ – GOAL FOR INTER MILAN! – Lautaro Martinez gives the Nerazzuri the lead on the night and all but seals the passage into the final after a skirmish inside the AC Milan box allows Lukaku to poke into the path of the Argentine, who slots the ball in the bottom near post before Maignan can react in time.
76′ – Pioli makes two more changes as Diaz and Messias are replaced by Divock Origi and Alexis Saelemaekers for the Rossoneri.
78′ – Martinez comes close to doubling his tally for the night after attempting a chip over Maignan but the Frenchman gets a hand to the ball and puts it out of play.
79′ – Barella and Tonali are both cautioned as tensions appear to be frayed in the aftermath of that goal from Martinez.
81′ – Krunic becomes the latest name to be booked after late challenge on Çalhanoğlu. Fikayo Tomori als gets a yellow card for pushing Acerbi in the ensuing scuffle over Krunic’s challenge. Martinez also gets cautioned for remonstrating with the referee.
83′ – Lukaku breaks free down the right flank before taking on Hernandez and feeding the ball to Martinez but the Argentine’s shot is blocked and Maignan gathers for the visitors.
84′ – Inter Milan make a double substitution with Martinez and Barella being withdrawn for Joaquin Correa and Roberto Gagliardini.
85′ – Inter Milan are now five minutes away from confirming their place in the UEFA Champions League final as AC Milan continue to try and break them down with no success.
88′ – Inter Milan still pressing with intensity despite what appears to be an unassailable lead on aggregate.
90′ – AC Milan are on the cusp of going goalless for four consecutive Milan derbies for the first time in their history as the fourth official signals three minutes of time added on.
90+2′ – Lukaku comes close to getting his name on the scoresheet with a low effort through Kalulu’s legs but is unable to get the better of Maignan.
FULL-TIME – INTER MILAN 1 – 0 AC MILAN
A dominant performance over two legs from Simone Inzaghi’s men sees Inter Milan triumph over their fierce city rivals AC Milan 1-0 on the night and 3-0 on aggregate.
The Nerazzuri are now on their way to the UEFA Champions League final for the first time since 2010 and will have to face either Manchester City or Real Madrid in Istanbul.
Thank you for joining us on this live blog. Goodnight.
