Inter Milan overpowered AC Milan early and then held firm to win the first leg of their Champions League semi-final derby 2-0 at San Siro on Wednesday.
The comfortable victory leaves the Nerazzurri on the brink of a return to European soccer’s showpiece event for the first time since the won it under Jose Mourinho in 2010.
Edin Dzeko and Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored two goals in three minutes to put Inter firmly in command and the visitors could have added more in a dominant first-half performance.
The second leg is on Tuesday. The winner will face either Real Madrid or Manchester City, who drew their first leg 1-1.
Milan wer3 missing key forward Rafael Leão, who hasn't fully recovered from a thigh injury sustained at the weekend.
There was an electric atmosphere at San Siro for the semi-final that had been dubbed the “Euroderby” in Italy.
The match was expected to be cagey and tight but Inter got off to the perfect start as it took the lead in the eighth minute. Hakan Calhanoglu whipped in a corner from the left and Dzeko managed to get in front of Davide Calabria to hook a volley into the top right corner.
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Edin Dzeko of Inter Milan celebrates with teammates after scoring the team's opening goal in the Champions League semi-final first-leg match against AC Milan at San Siro on May 10, 2023. Getty -
Nicolo Barella, left, celebrates with Edin Dzeko after Inter's opening goal. Getty -
Henrikh Mkhitaryan scores Inter Milan's second goal. Getty -
Inter Milan's Henrikh Mkhitaryan scores their second goal past AC Milan's Mike Maignan. Reuters -
Henrikh Mkhitaryan celebrates after scoring Inter's second goal. Getty -
Henrikh Mkhitaryan scores Inter's second goal. Getty -
Edin Dzeko scores Inter's first goal. Getty -
Edin Dzeko of Inter scores the opening goal. Getty -
Referee Jesus Gil Manzano is confronted by AC Milan keeper Mike Maignan after he awarded a penalty to Inter for a foul on Lautaro Martinez, which he later overturned after a VAR review. Getty -
Lautaro Martinez of Inter goes down in the box after a tackle by Simon Kjaer of AC Milan. The referee initially awarded a penalty but later overturned the decision after a VAR check. Getty -
AC Milan's Junior Messias, right, and AC Milan's Olivier Giroud battle for the ball. AP -
Sandro Tonali of AC Milan is challenged by Hakan Calhanoglu and Denzel Dumfries of Inter. Getty -
Theo Hernandez of AC Milan takes a free kick as Alessandro Bastoni, Romelu Lukaku, Roberto Gagliardini and Denzel Dumfries of Inter jump in the wall. Getty
And Inter doubled their lead just three minutes later. Federico Dimarco's low pass was wisely left by Lautaro Martínez for Mkhitaryan to lift over Mike Maignan.
Milan had only conceded one goal in their past six Champions League matches.
Incredibly, Inter almost scored a third five minutes later but Calhanoglu’s long-range effort came off the right post.
The Milan players were shellshocked but eventually managed to compose themselves and had their first attempt on goal on the half-hour mark but Calabria hit the side netting.
Seconds later, Inter were awarded a penalty for a foul by Simon Kjaer on Martínez but the referee overturned his decision after reviewing the incident on the pitchside VAR monitor.
Milan improved after the break and were shooting towards the end packed with its fans, in a sea of red and black.
The Rossoneri should have pulled one back in the 63rd minute but Sandro Tonali’s effort came off the base of the left post.
