Inter celebrate with fans as City and Real Madrid warned Serie A side will be no pushovers
Inter Milan sparked jubilant celebrations at the San Siro as they beat rivals AC Milan to reach the Champions League final.
Two quickfire goals in their first leg win set them up for success in the second on Wednesday night and Lautaro Martinez’s goal in the 74th minute sealed a 3-0 aggregate victory for Inter.
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It’s the first time Inter will appear at a Champions League final since 2010 and after the final whistle the team continued their celebrations with their adoring fans at the iconic venue.
Either Manchester City or Real Madrid will be their opponents in next month’s final, with the two giants facing off in the second leg at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, live on talkSPORT.
Many tipping the winner of that tie to go on and lift the trophy in Istanbul but Danny Mills sent a warning to write off the Serie A side at your peril.
Speaking to talkSPORT, he said: “Inter have got some experienced players. I think they’ll be a match for City or Madrid, they’ll make it difficult for them.
“People are saying tomorrow is the final, it’s not. They’ve got three very good attacking players – Martinez, Romelu Lukaku and Edin Dzeko, they can cause anyone problems so it’s not done and dusted by any means.”
Mills also believes, in contrast with club legend Javier Zanetti, Inter would prefer to face Carlo Ancelotti’s side instead.
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“It is a great emotion, the group deserved to play in a Champions League final after 13 years,” Inter vice-president Zanetti said post-match.
“We are waiting to know the name of our opponents, but what this group has done is very important, in any case.
“I would like to avoid Real Madrid because the competition seems made for them. But the most important thing is to get there; it was a difficult path.”
“If they get Madrid, there’ll be a little bit of expectation that actually they need to have a go at them at times, and try and match up to them,” Mills said.
“I think the way that City play, the way they dominate possession, Inter would be quite happy sitting back, playing on the counter, almost playing for penalties.”
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He added: “I just think playing against Madrid, there’ll probably be a little bit more belief that they can get at them, whether the age of midfield that they’ve got, all those type of things.
“Maybe a little bit more expectancy to go and take the game a little bit more to Madrid than it would be if it’s City.”
Madrid’s 14 Champions League titles is a competition record, and City are eyeing their first ever success in the illustrious tournament.
However, Mills believes that Inter will still offer a tough test in Istanbul, even though they will face one of the best teams in world football.
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“I tell you what, they will be no pushovers in the final,” Mills said. “Whoever gets there, they are going to be a tough side to beat.
“They’re organised, they’ve got some good players in there, they’ve got experience. They’ve got a chance and they will be massive underdogs whoever they face, and that again makes them very, very dangerous.”
City and Madrid head into their second leg on Wednesday night with an aggregate score of 1-1 following their clash at the Santiago Bernabeu.
It is set to be an entertaining affair at the Etihad Stadium, one that will decide who competes against Inter for the biggest prize in club football.
