‘One small step’ left for Inzaghi’s UCL final dream

Inter Milan’s Edin Dzeko celebrates with teammates after scoring against AC MIlan at San Siro, Milan, on Wednesday. Pic/Getty Images

Simone Inzaghi can already see his Inter Milan team in next month's Champions League final after an impressive 2-0 win over local rivals AC Milan in the last four on Wednesday. Inter need to avoid a collapse in the second leg of their all-Italian tie in order to reach a clash with either Real Madrid or Manchester City in Istanbul. And Inzaghi was in a confident mood after watching his team dominate the first leg, missing several chances to make the scoreline humiliating for their cross-town rivals. "We played a brilliant first half, but it's a tight scoreline for what we did out there," Inzaghi told reporters.

Simone Inzaghi

"Then in the second half, we managed the game well. Apart from [Sandro] Tonali's shot [which hit the post] the boys did great in covering the whole pitch. "It's a hugely positive night which gives us a lot of satisfaction but we're missing one more piece to attain a dream that we believed in since August. There are still seven days left. We know we've got one more small step to go."

Also Read: UEFA Champions League: Kevin De Bruyne rocket leaves Man City and Madrid level

Milan could have star man Rafael Leao back for Tuesday's second leg after the Portugal winger missed Wednesday's match with a thigh injury. Leao is crucial to Milan's attack and his absence made Inter's job that much easier, but Inzaghi isn't worried about the 23-year-old's potential return next week. "We have played loads of derbies with Leao playing and without him playing," said Inzaghi. "He's a great player who is very important for them but it won't change our plan for the match."