The Argentine scored yet another goal against the Rossoneri as Simone Inzaghi's team sealed their place in Istanbul with a 1-0 win at San Siro
Nicola Barella burst into tears, Romelu Lukaku raised his hands to the heavens while Simone Inzaghi just bore the look of a man who could barely believe that he had been finally vindicated. Make no mistake about it, not many people believed this Inter side capable of making it to the knockout stage of the Champions League after being drawn in the same group as Bayern Munich and Barcelona – and even fewer thought they could reach the final when they were in the middle of a rotten run of form in Serie A just a couple of months ago.
And yet not only are Inzaghi's men on their way to Istanbul, they will arrive brimming with self-belief after beating city rivals AC Milan in the biggest Derby della Madonnina in decades. While the Rossoneri wilted under the pressure, Inter excelled, winning 1-0 in Tuesday night's second leg at San Siro to seal a 3-0 win on aggregate.
Below, GOAL runs through the winners and losers from a historic night for the Nerazzurri that saw Lautaro Martinez once again prove himself Milan's worst nightmare…
Getty ImagesWINNER: Lautaro Martinez
It just had to be him. Milan had done a decent job of keeping Lautaro quiet in last week's first leg but he was always going to have his say at some point. Indeed, since his first derby in March 2019, no player has scored more goals against the Rossoneri.
It's now eight in 13 appearances against Milan, with his latest effort arriving with just 16 minutes remaining, thus completely killing a tie that never really looked like being revived by the 'visitors'. Truth be told, it wasn't the greatest bit of goalkeeping from the normally brilliant Mike Maignan, who was beaten at his near post because of a rather weak attempt to keep out Lautaro's low drive with his right hand.
But Lautaro obviously didn't care. His status as a Milan derby legend is now well and truly secure, as underlined by the stirring sight of him celebrating with an adoring Curva Nord.
AdvertisementGettyLOSER: Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Two derbies of very different emotions for Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Last week, he was ecstatic after scoring Inter's crucial second goal during a man of the match-winning performance. On Tuesday night, though, he left the field shaking his head after being forced off through injury just two minutes before the break.
Granted, Mkhitaryan still ended up celebrating Inter's progression to the final, but his joy was tempered by the knowledge that now has a fight on his hands when it comes to starting in Istanbul. Obviously, there's the thigh problem, the full extent of which we won't know for at least a couple of days. But there's also Mkitharyan's rather precarious hold on his position. The versatile Armenian plays regularly for Inter but he is by no means one of the first names on the team sheet, meaning even if he is fully fit to feature in the final, he may not be handed a starting spot.
Marcelo Brozovic, who replaced him on Tuesday, has underperformed this season but, on his day, he is a better option at the base of the midfield than Hakan Calhanoglu, who is more used to playing in a more advanced position anyway. Mkhitaryan, then, faces an anxious wait for the results of his first medical exams…
GettyWINNER: The LuLa partnership
Despite continuing his late-season renaissance with a double against Sassuolo on Saturday, Romelu Lukaku was once again forced to start on the bench at San Siro, with Edin Dzeko retaining his place up front alongside Lautaro.
However, Lukaku made a decisive contribution after being introduced as a sub, showing impressive calmness and composure in the area before picking out Lautaro, who fired home.
Dzeko obviously proved his enduring quality in the first leg, but it really does appear as if the 'LuLa' partnership that propelled Inter to the Serie A title in 2021 is starting to fire on all cylinders again.
If Lukaku can keep up this rich vein of form – he has seven goals in his last 12 appearances – do not be surprised if he plays his way into Inzaghi' XI for the final.
GettyLOSER: Rafael Leao
How would this derby have played out had Rafael Leao been fit to start both games? Unfortunately for the Milan fans now facing years of mockery, we'll never know. His absence from the first leg was obviously a major handicap for Pioli's side, who haven't won a game this season without their Portuguese talisman.
However, Inter weren't that worried about him winning his fitness battle. Andre Onana was even happy enough to tempt fate before the second leg by pointing out that the Nerazzurri had already won several derbies even when the winger was in the Milan starting line-up. Perhaps we shouldn't have been surprised, then, that Inter made it four wins in a row against their rivals – for the first time since 1974 – in spite of Leao's return.
Of course, he may not have been fully fit after his recent thigh injury and he certainly didn't look right early on, with his loose first touch resulting in him having to haul down Denzel Dumfries inside the opening five minutes.
Leao later burst into the area at his usual velocity but he dragged his left-footed shot wide of Onana's goal. If he had scored then, it would have changed the entire complexion of the tie. As it was, both Milan and Leao faded the longer the game wore on, leaving both wondering what might have been…