Inter Milan strolled into the quarter-finals of the Champions League on Tuesday after seeing off Feyenoord 2-1 to go through 4-1 on aggregate.
A thumping early strike from Marcus Thuram and Hakan Calhanoglu’s penalty gave Inter comfortable passage to the last eight, where the Italian champions will face a blockbuster clash with Bayern Munich.
Feyenoord’s deepest run in Europe’s top club competition in decades ended with a whimper although the away side did briefly look like making a game of it when Jakub Moder rattled in a penalty three minutes before the break.
Hosts Inter could have easily won by more after missing a clutch of good chances, with Thuram drilling a great opportunity against the bar moments before being substituted to rapturous applause with 19 minutes remaining.
Inter were already comfortably ahead from their dominant first leg display in Rotterdam but Thuram made sure there would be no nasty surprises in the eighth minute.
The France forward received a ball from Carlos Augusto on the left flank and then charged towards goal, cutting inside onto his right foot and unleashing a ferocious shot against which Timon Wellenreuther could do nothing to stop.
That goal made it near impossible for Feyenoord, now led by former Netherlands striker Robin van Persie whose team showed willing even with 11 players out of action through injury or suspension.
Up to Thuram’s opener Simone Inzaghi’s 200th game as Inter coach had been played in near silence bar sporadic chanting from the 5,000 away supporters, as home fans stayed silent for the first 20 minutes in protest at the increasing cost of tickets for home matches.
Inzaghi, himself hit with a series of important absences including Italy wing-back Federico Dimarco, also rested star striker Lautaro Martinez, Nicolo Barella, Francesco Acerbi and Alessandro Bastoni with a huge match at Serie A title rivals Atalanta coming up at the weekend.
It was one of Inzaghi’s regulars in Calhanoglu who gave Feyenoord a lifeline in the 38th minute when he bundled into Moder to hand the Poland midfielder a chance to level the scores on the night.
However, Calhanoglu redeemed himself five minutes after the break by confidently stroking home from the spot after what looked like a soft foul on Mehdi Taremi by Thomas Beelen.
Calhanoglu’s ninth goal of the season made it party time in the stands and gave Inter a truly high-profile tie with Bayern which will bring back memories of the 2010 treble, the last time an Italian team won the Champions League.
AFP
