Inter Milan 2-1 Bayer Leverkusen
Inter Milan have booked their place in the semi-finals of the Europa League after a 2-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen in Dusseldorf.
Early goals from Nicolo Barella and Romelu Lukaku were enough to see the Nerazzurri past Leverkusen, who pulled a goal back through Kai Havertz in what could be his final game for the club.
The Europa League 2020 odds had Inter as favourites to go through, and they played like it as they dominated for most of the match. The path is now clear for them to make it back to the final in a few weeks’ time.
Highlights of the game
Inter came into this match with Bayer Leverkusen in impressive form. They’d won each of their last four games, scoring within the 34th minute in all four contests.
And the Italians struck early once again as they took just 15 minutes to break the deadlock in Germany. Lautaro Martinez got on the end of a long ball and flicked the ball to Ashley Young after two Leverkusen defenders converged on him.
Young then found Lukaku, whose shot on the turn was blocked. But the ball found its way to Nicolo Barella at the edge of the penalty area, and the young midfielder uncorked a superb strike into the bottom corner with the outside of his right boot to give Inter the lead.
Barella nearly doubled his tally just five minutes later. Lautaro made a brilliant run from the right wing into the byline and cut the ball back to Barella who was waiting in front of goal, but his shot was blocked.
Inter would get their second just moments later, though. Young again fed the ball in to Lukaku, who, despite immense pressure from a Leverkusen defender, still had enough strength to get his shot on the turn past Leverkusen keeper Lukas Hradecky.
Lukaku really should have put the game away three minutes later. He was clear through on goal after a brilliant one-two with Marcelo Brozovic, but the Belgian couldn’t beat the onrushing Hradecky in a one-on-one situation.
Leverkusen were handed a huge lifeline with that save, which proved even more crucial moments later as they pulled a goal back.
After Inter failed to clear two blocked shots from Moussa Diaby and Lars Bender, the ball fell to Kai Havertz. The Leverkusen talisman slithered his way past the Inter defence with help from Kevin Volland and blasted the ball between the legs of Inter’s Samir Handanovic.
But Leverkusen were nearly pegged back again almost immediately after the referee awarded Inter a penalty. Danilo D’Ambrosio’s attempted cross struck the arm of Leverkusen full-back Daley Sinkgraven, although it seemed to be a harsh decision.
But after consulting the pitch-side monitor, the referee changed his mind and rescinded the penalty. Leverkusen were still alive.
Into the second half, Inter continued to search for that third goal to clinch the tie. Roberto Gagliardini had a good chance five minutes after the break, but his close-range shot was blocked by his own team-mate, Lukaku.
A couple of minutes later, it was Lautaro’s turn to threaten the Leverkusen goal. The Argentine was through on goal after a quickly taken free-kick, but his cross was parried away by Hradecky.
Leverkusen’s best chance of the half fell to Kerem Demirbay on the hour mark, but the German’s shot was straight at Handanovic, who pushed the ball over.
Inter brought in both Christian Eriksen and Alexis Sanchez to grab that crucial third goal, and they nearly combined to get it. Eriksen delivered a fine through ball to Sanchez, whose volley forced a great save from Hradecky.
Minutes later, Eriksen combined with another substitute, Victor Moses, on the left wing. Moses did great work to get off a shot, which Hradecky was once again equal to.
Leverkusen had one last chance to equalise as Leon Bailey sent in a dangerous cross into the box. Unfortunately, neither Havertz nor Volland was able to get on the end of it as Inter were able to hang on for the victory.
Key statistics
Inter were clearly the superior side in this match. Despite having only 37 per cent of possession, they consistently created the better opportunities. They outshot Leverkusen 18-9 and had seven shots on target to the Germans’ two.
Lukaku created even more Europa League 2020 highlights as he accounted for six of those 18 shots by himself.
With his goal, the Belgian has now scored in nine consecutive games in the Europa League/UEFA Cup dating back to his time with Everton, which is a new record. He’s also the first Inter player to score in six straight European matches.
What’s next?
Inter are now through to the Europa League semi-finals, where they will meet either Shakhtar Donetsk or Basel. Based on their current form, the SBOBET odds will surely have Inter as significant favourites against either of those two clubs.
As for Bayer Leverkusen, they will have a month to prepare for the next Bundesliga season. They will also have to prepare for life without Havertz, who has most likely played his last match for the club as his much-awaited move to Chelsea inches closer.
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