For the third time, the Uefa Champions League stages an all-Milan knockout tie as seven-time winners AC Milan face neighbours Inter, the last Italian side to lift the trophy, in the semifinal first leg at San Siro, the ground the teams share.

Milan have won both previous contests on aggregate against their neighbours, including at this stage of their victorious 2002/03 campaign.

Inter are in the last four for the first time since claiming their third European Cup in 2009/10 while Milan have reached a first semifinal in 16 seasons – although they have a proud record to draw on having won eight of their last nine contests at this stage.

The Rossoneri are also taking part in a second successive all-Italian tie having knocked out Serie A leaders Napoli in the quarterfinals; Inter overcame Portuguese pair Porto and Benfica to set up this tie.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS

This is the sides’ third Uefa Champions League tie, Milan having won each of the first two on their way to reaching the final.

In the 2002/03 semifinals, Héctor Cúper’s Inter drew 0-0 in the first leg for which they were the designated away team, Andriy Shevchenko (45+1) breaking the deadlock in the tie with Milan’s opener in the return. Obafemi Martins’ 84^th-minute strike levelled on the night but Inter were unable to score again and bowed out on away goals.

Carlo Ancelotti’s Milan went on to beat another Italian side, Juventus, 3-2 on penalties after the final at Old Trafford had finished goalless.

Shevchenko was again on target in the 2004/05 quarterfinal between the clubs, his 74^th-minute strike adding to a first-half goal from Jaap Stam (45+1) as Ancelotti’s Milan claimed a 2-0 home first-leg win against Roberto Mancini’s Inter. They progressed after being awarded a 3-0 forfeit victory in the return.

The Rossoneri got the better of PSV Eindhoven in the last four but then lost a remarkable final in Istanbul, going down 3-2 to Liverpool on penalties after a 3-3 draw in which Milan had been three goals up at halftime.

The sides have met In 219 previous fixtures, Inter winning 81 – including three of the last four – and Milan 71 with 67 draws.

Both Serie A matches this season were won by the home side, a Rafael Leão double (28, 60) helping Milan to a 3-2 success at San Siro on 3 September. Olivier Giroud (54) scored the Rossoneri’s second goal, with Marcelo Brozovic (21) and Edin Džeko (67) on target for Inter.

Inter’s Lautaro Martínez scored the only goal of the reverse fixture on 5 February.

The Nerazzurri had also beaten their local rivals 3-0 in the Italian Super Cup on 18 January thanks to goals from Federico Dimarco (10), Džeko (21) and Martínez (77).

Inter also won the last two-legged contest between the clubs, running out 3-0 victors in last season’s Coppa Italia semifinals. After a 0-0 draw in the away first leg, two first-half Martínez goals (4, 40) in the return put Inter in charge, Robin Gosens completing the win with a third eight minutes from time.

That was the sides’ eighth Coppa Italia two-legged knockout tie and Inter’s third win to their neighours’ five. Milan also beat Inter 2-0 in the one-off final in July 1977.

This is the 31^st Uefa Champions League knockout tie between clubs from the same country, Milan’s quarterfinal against Napoli having been the first since Chelsea beat Manchester City 1-0 in the 2021 final.

Milan have featured in – and won – all four of the previous all-Italian contests, beating Inter in 2003 and 2005, Juventus in the 2003 final and Napoli in this season’s quarterfinals.

This is the 17^th all-Italian tie in Uefa club competition; Milan’s tie with Napoli was the first since Fiorentina’s 4-1 aggregate win against Roma in the 2014/15 Uefa Europa League round of 16 (1-1 h, 3-0 a).

FORM GUIDE

MILAN

This is Milan’s 13^th European Cup semifinal; their record is W9 L3:

1955/56 Real Madrid L 4-5 (2-4 a, 2-1 h)

1957/58 Manchester United W 5-2 (1-2 a, 4-0 h)

1962/63 Dundee L 5-2 (5-1 h, 0-1 a)

1968/69 Manchester United W 2-1 (2-0 h, 0-1 a)

1988/89 Real Madrid W 6-1 (1-1 a, 5-0 h)

1989/90 Bayern München W 2-2 away goals (1-0 h, 1-2 a aet)

1993/94 Monaco W 3-0 (h)

1994/95 Paris Saint Germain W 3-0 (1-0 a, 2-0 h)

2002/23 Inter Milan W 1-1 away goals (0-0 h, 1-1 a)

2004/05 PSV Eindhoven W 3-3 away goals (2-0 h, 1-3 a)

2005/06 Barcelona L 0-1 (0-1 h, 0-0 a)

2006/07 Manchester United W 5-3 (2-3 a, 3-0 h)

Only Real Madrid (32), Bayern (20) and Barcelona (17) have featured in more semifinals than Milan’s 13.

This is Milan’s seventh last-four appearance in the Uefa Champions League era, matching Juventus’s Italian record.

The Rossoneri have won eight of their last nine semifinal ties.

Having ended their seven-year absence from the Uefa Champions League group stage in 2021/22, this is Milan’s second successive campaign and 19^th overall, four behind the Italian record held by Juventus.

Last season Stefano Pioli’s side finished bottom of Group B behind Liverpool, Atlético de Madrid and Porto having collected four points, their sole victory a 1-0 success in Madrid on Matchday 5.

That was the first time Milan had failed to qualify from the initial group stage in a Uefa Champions League campaign since 1999/2000, ending a run of 12 straight successes.

Seven times champions of Europe, most recently in 2007, the Rossoneri have been eliminated in the round of 16 in five of their seven Uefa Champions League campaigns since that triumph.

Milan are the only Italian side to win the Uefa Champions League more than once having triumphed in 1994, 2003 and 2007. They were also beaten finalists in 1993, 1995 and 2005.

Pioli’s team responded to last season’s early European exit by winning the Serie A title, the club’s 19^th league championship – putting them level with Inter – and a first since 2010/11.

This season, Milan picked up ten points in Group E to finish three behind Chelsea – who beat them 3-0 at Stamford Bridge and 2-0 at San Siro – clinching second place thanks to 4-0 victories in each of their last two games, at Dinamo Zagreb and at home to Salzburg. Those wins equalled the club’s biggest margins of victory in the Uefa Champions League.

They then edged past Tottenham in the round of 16, Brahim Díaz’s seventh-minute strike in the first leg at San Siro proving to be the only goal of the tie.

Milan then squeezed past Napoli in the quarterfinals, winning 1-0 in the home first leg thanks to Ismaël Bennacer’s 40^th-minute strike. Olivier Giroud extended the aggregate advantage two minutes before halftime in the Naples second leg, Milan holding on despite conceding an equaliser on the night in added time.

Milan had not let in a goal in 596 minutes of Uefa Champions League football before Napoli’s late equaliser on Matchday 10.

Despite beating Dinamo Zagreb twice in this season’s group stage and Salzburg once before their first-leg victories against Spurs and Napoli, Milan have won only seven of their last 23 Uefa Champions League games (D7 L9). The first-leg defeat of Napoli made it six wins in their last 17 home fixtures, group stage to final (D6 L5), the 3-1 defeat of Dinamo on Matchday 2 having ended a six-game run without a victory (D3 L3).

The Rossoneri have won four of their last six home Uefa Champions League knockout matches (D1 L1), conceding just one goal.

Milan have won five of their 11 games against Italian clubs in Uefa competition, losing only one. That sole defeat came against Parma in the second leg of the 1994 Uefa Super Cup (1-0 a, 0-2 h).

That is also Milan’s only aggregate defeat in their five two-legged ties against Serie A sides. In addition to their Uefa Champions League wins against Inter in 2003 and 2005 and this season’s success against Napoli, they beat Sampdoria in the 1990 Uefa Super Cup (1-1 a, 2-0 h).

The Rossoneri also defeated Juventus on penalties in the 2003 Uefa Champions League final at Old Trafford.

INTER

Inter’s record in European Cup semifinals is W5 L3:

1963/64 Borussia Dortmund W 4-2 (2-2 a, 2-0 h)

1964/65 Liverpool W 4-3 (1-3 a, 3-0 h)

1965/66 Real Madrid L 1-2 (0-1 a, 1-1 h)

1966/67 CSKA Sofia W 1-0 replay (1-1 h, 1-1 a)

1971/72 Celtic W 5-4 on penalties (0-0 h, 0-0 a)

1980/81 Real Madrid L 1-2 (0-2 a, 1-0 h)

2002/03 AC Milan L 1-1 away goals (0-0 a, 1-1 h)

2009/10 Barcelona W 3-2 (3-1 h, 0-1 a)

After winning four of their first five last-four ties, the Nerazurri have one victory in the last three.

Inter are now level with Ajax on nine European Cup semifinals; only seven clubs have featured more.

This is the Nerazzurri’s 16^th Uefa Champions League campaign and a fifth in a row, their longest run since they appeared for ten successive seasons between 2002/03 and 2011/12. This is their 12^th appearance in the knockout stage.

Simone Inzaghi’s side ended the club’s run of three successive group stage eliminations last term by finishing second behind Real Madrid in Group D; Inter recovered after taking only one point from their first two fixtures to finish on ten and reach the round of 16 for the first time since 2011/12.

Inter’s campaign ended in the first knockout round, however, despite a 1-0 second-leg win at Liverpool, the damage having been done by a 2-0 loss in the first game in Milan.

This season Inter’s Group C campaign started and finished with 2-0 defeats against Bayern München, but they remained unbeaten in between those losses, collecting ten points including a decisive four against Barcelona (1-0 h, 3-3 a) and wrapping up progress with a 4-0 success at home to Viktoria Plzen on Matchday 5.

The Milan club then edged past Porto in the round of 16, winning 1-0 in Milan before holding out for a goalless draw in Portugal, and overcame another Portuguese side in the last eight, a 2-0 first-leg win at Benfica preceding a 3-3 draw in Milan in which Inter led 3-1 until the 86^th minute.

Inter were second in Serie A in 2021/22, finishing two points behind Milan.

Despite wins at Sheriff and Liverpool last season and Plzen and Benfica this, Inter have managed only six victories in their last 17 away Uefa Champions League games (D4 L7).

Inter have kept clean sheets in six of their last nine Uefa Champions League matches, including the first three in this season’s knockout phase.

Inter have won four and lost four of their 11 games against Italian clubs in Uefa competition. Aside from their two ties against Milan, they have played three two-legged contests, all in the Uefa Cup, and won them all. They beat Atalanta in the 1990/91 quarterfinals (0-0 a, 2-0 h) and Roma in the final the same season (2-0 h, 0-1 a), also overcoming Cagliari in the 1993/94 semifinals (2-3 a, 3-0 h) en route to recapturing the trophy.

Inter’s record in two-legged ties against Italian clubs is therefore W3 L2, both defeats coming against Milan.

The Nerazzurri also beat Lazio 3-0 in the 1998 Uefa Cup final at the Stade de France.

LINKS AND TRIVIA

Pioli was Inter coach from 8 November 2016, when he replaced Frank de Boer, to 9 May 2017. His reign kicked off with a 2-2 draw against Milan on 20 November 2016. Inter won 12 of their first 16 Serie A matches under him but managed only two draws and five losses in his last seven games in charge.

Hakan Çalhanoglu was a Milan player between 2017 and joining Inter on a free transfer in 2021. He scored 32 goals in 172 appearances in all competitions for the Rossoneri, including 22 in 135 Serie A matches.

Inter defender Matteo Darmian is a product of Milan’s youth system, joining the club in 2000 and making his first-team debut aged only 16, as a halftime substitute in a Coppa Italia game against Brescia on 28 November 2006. That was one of only seven appearances Darmian made for the Rossoneri before departing, initially on loan, in 2009.

Pioli coached Inter defender Stefan de Vrij at Lazio between 2014 and 2016.

Inter coach Inzaghi replaced Pioli at Lazio, initially on an interim basis, on 3 April 2016.

HAVE PLAYED TOGETHER:

Simon Kjær & Joaquín Correa (Sevilla 2017/18)

Simon Kjær & Robin Gosens (Atalanta 2019/20)

Alessandro Florenzi & Edin Džeko (Roma 2015–20)

Alessandro Florenzi & Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Roma 2019/20)

Rade Krunic & Federico Dimarco (Empoli 2016/17)

INTERNATIONAL TEAMMATES:

Sandro Tonali, Alessandro Florenzi & Francesco Acerbi, Nicolò Barella, Federico Dimarco, Danilo D’Ambrosio, Matteo Darmian, Alessandro Bastoni (Italy)

Divock Origi, Charles De Ketelaere, Alexis Saelemaekers & Romelu Lukaku (Belgium)

Rade Krunic & Edin Džeko (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Ante Rebic & Marcelo Brozovic (Croatia)

Malick Thiaw & Robin Gosens (Germany)

Lautaro Martínez was an extra-time substitute in Argentina’s victory on penalties against a France side including Theo Hernández and Olivier Giroud in the 2022 Fifa World Cup final.

Inter’s Nicolò Barella and De Ketelaere of Milan both scored as Italy defeated Belgium 2-1 in the Uefa Nations League third-place play-off on 10 October 2021. Francesco Acerbi and Alessandro Bastoni also played for Italy with Saelemaekers featuring for Belgium.

Hernández had scored a last-minute winner in France’s semifinal win against Belgium, for whom Lukaku had found the net, in the semifinals on 7 October 2021.

LATEST NEWS

MILAN

Milan made it nine games unbeaten in all competitions (W4 D5) with a 2-0 home win against Lazio on Saturday thanks to goals in the first half-hour from Ismaël Bennacer – scoring his first Serie A home goal since July 2020 – and Theo Hernández.

That also made it nine home matches without defeat for the Rossoneri (W6 D3), since a 5-2 loss against Sassuolo on 29 January, Milan’s fourth reverse of the season in their own stadium. They have conceded only two goals in those nine games.

Milan have, however, won only four of their last 13 games, home and away, in all competitions (D7 L2).

After booking their semifinal place, Milan returned to domestic football with a 2-0 home win against Lecce on 23 April, Rafael Leão scoring both goals.

Leão has 12 league goals this season and, having struck 11 times in 2021/22, is only the second Portuguese player to reach double figures in two consecutive Serie A campaigns after Cristiano Ronaldo, who achieved the feat in all three of his seasons with Juventus.

Leão has scored in only two of his last 15 Serie A games, striking twice against both Lecce and away at Napoli on 2 April (4-0). He limped off after only 11 minutes on Saturday with a reported adductor issue.

On 29 April Alexis Saelemaekers saved a point for the Rossoneri at Roma with an added-time goal moments after the Giallorossi had taken a 1-0 lead, also in added time.

It was Saelemaekers' fourth goal in all competitions this season, making it his most prolific campaign.

Another added-time goal, this time by Junior Messias, earned Milan another 1-1 draw, this time at home against Cremonese on 3 May.

Messias has scored three goals in his last seven Serie A appearances.

Four of Milan’s last six games in all competitions have ended 1-1.

The 4-0 win at Napoli on 2 April was Milan’s first league victory this season by a four-goal margin and the first time they had scored four goals in a game since a 4-1 victory against Monza on 22 October. They have failed to find the net more than twice in any other game in all competitions in 2023.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s penalty in a 3-1 loss at Udinese on 18 March made him Serie A’s oldest goalscorer aged 41 years 166 days; he took the record of another Milan player, Alessandro Costacurta, who scored a penalty in a 3-2 home loss to Udinese aged 41 years 25 days on 19 May 2007.

It was also Ibrahimovic's first goal in Serie A since a 3-0 win against Venezia on 9 January 2022, a run of 433 days. The Swedish striker moved level with Roberto Mancini, Luigi Riva and Filippo Inzaghi in joint 21^st place in the all-time Serie A scoring chart with 156 goals.

Milan were eliminated in the Coppa Italia round of 16 by a 1-0 home extra-time loss against Torino on 11 January.

A week later the Rossoneri lost 3-0 to Inter in the Italian Super Cup.

The 1-0 win against Torino on 10 February was Milan’s 3 000^th game in Serie A (W1458, D879, L663). They were only the fourth team to reach that landmark, after Inter, Roma and Juventus.

Midfielder Tommaso Pobega has missed Milan’s last four Serie A games with a broken rib, although he was an unused substitute on Saturday.

On 19 April Olivier Giroud extended his contract with Milan until June 2024.

On 20 February coach Stefano Pioli won the Panchina d’Oro (Golden Bench) coach of the year award for 2021/22 after leading Milan to the Serie A title.

INTER

Since the second-leg draw against Benfica, Inter have won all five games in all competitions, triumphing 2-0 at Roma on Saturday.

Federico Dimarco opened the scoring with his fourth league goal of the season; the wing-back also has six assists. Saturday’s goal was his first in Serie A since he struck twice in a 6-1 win against Bologna on 9 November.

Romelu Lukaku scored a clinching second and has found the net in four of Inter’s last six away games in all competitions.

That win made it four consecutive victories in Serie A in which the Nerazzurri have scored 14 goals, triumphing 3-0 at Empoli on 23 April, 3-1 at home against Lazio seven days later and 6-0 at Verona on 3 May before the weekend win.

The game against Verona was Simone Inzaghi’s 100^th as Inter coach in all competitions; his record in those matches W62 D18 L20.

Inter scored six goals or more in a Serie A away game for the first time since a 7-0 win at Sassuolo on 22 September 2017.

The Nerazzurri have scored more goals in their last four Serie A games (14) than in their previous 14 (13).

Lukaku scored twice against Empoli; it was the first time he had found the net in open play in Serie A since scoring against Lecce on 13 August, 253 days earlier.

Lautaro Martínez scored the other goal to become the first Inter player to score 15 goals in three consecutive Serie A seasons since Mauro Icardi, who did so in four between 2014/15 and 2017/18

Martínez also got two goals as a second-half substitute against Lazio and added two more against Verona. He has six goals in his last six games in all competitions.

Martínez has scored 15 goals for Inter in 2023 in all competitions despite failing to find the net in his eight appearances in all competitions before his second-leg strike against Benfica.

Martínez missed an early penalty in a 2-1 loss at Spezia on 10 March; the Argentinian has failed to convert four of his last eight spot kicks.

Lukaku has 12 goals in his last 19 games for club and country, including a hat-trick in Belgium’s 3-0 Uefa EURO 2024 qualifying win against Sweden on 24 March and another strike in a 3-2 friendly win in Germany four days later. He has now scored a record 72 goals in 106 appearances for Belgium.

Edin Džeko scored twice against Verona, his first goals since getting the only goal as Inter defeated Napoli on 4 January. Džeko now has 22 Serie A goals for Inter, all of them after turning 35; the club’s other over-35 scorers combined have managed 19 goals.

Hakan Çalhanoglu was also on target at Verona, his first goal in 2023. He had not scored since another big win, November’s 6-1 success against Bologna.

Nicolò Barella scored in each leg of the quarterfinals against Benfica. They were his first Inter goals since a run of four in five games in October.

Before the victory against Lazio, Inter had suffered three successive league defeats at San Siro, all by a 1-0 scoreline. It was the first time Inter had ever lost three successive home Serie A matches without scoring.

Before the draw against Benfica, Inter had lost five of their previous seven games in Serie A, scoring only four goals.

Inter have suffered 11 league defeats this season. The Nerazzurri had not lost 11 games in a Serie A campaign since 2016/17, a season in which they lost 14 times and had three different coaches.

Inter have booked a place in the Coppa Italia final, beating Juventus 1-0 in the semifinal second leg on 26 April thanks to Dimarco’s goal after a 1-1 draw in Turin on 4 April. They will face Fiorentina in Rome on 24 May.

Inter have kept 14 clean sheets in 28 games in all competitions in 2023, including their last four away fixtures.

The Nerazzurri won the Italian Super Cup on 18 January, beating Milan 3-0.

A back injury restricted Milan Škriniar to a late cameo in the second leg against Porto, his sole appearance since he was forced off in the first leg against the Portuguese side. The defender has not played since and underwent surgery on 20 April.

Robin Gosens dislocated his right shoulder while scoring in the 3-1 win over Lazio on 30 April and has not played since.

Danilo D’Ambrosio missed the weekend win with a muscular problem. (SuperSport)

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