Champions League semi-final: Closing night in Milan
Milan is no stranger to drama, or big nights in the Champions League for that matter. But matches like Tuesday’s semifinal second leg – Internazionale vs. AC Milan in San Siro – make it hard to be neutral. So if so, pick a side and enjoy another night of noise and memories of the good old days of Italian football. Here’s what you need to know.
How to watch
Inter vs. AC Milan is broadcast on CBS (English) and Univision (Spanish) and streamed on Paramount Plus. Look elsewhere? A full list of UEFA broadcast partners is here. Kickoff is at 3 p.m. Eastern, regardless of what the ads and the TV shows and the tweets tell you.
Check back here for updates during the match.
Inter-Milan Preview: Pressure Point
Like a group of mischievous schoolchildren, the AC Milan players stood with their heads bowed and their eyes fixed, listening to what the club’s ultras—the most fervent, most organized fans—had to say. Standing between them, a case study in active listening, their manager Stefano Pioli nodded his head in agreement and understanding.
The echoes, Pioli later revealed, had simply wanted to “spur and boost” the team after a bitterly discouraging week. Milan had lost twice in four days: the first, most damaging, to city rivals Inter in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final; and then, salt in the wound, to 18th-place Spezia in Serie A.
Pioli should be taken at his word, but from the outside it didn’t look like a particularly inspiring encounter. Milan’s players looked sad and gloomy as they were summoned to meet the fans after that game against Spezia. They did not appear to appreciate being reminded of their responsibilities.
After all, they are already under enough pressure for the second leg. In the first place, of course, a place in the final of the Champions League is at stake. Local pride is also at stake: the specter of being eliminated by his housemate is harrowing. And then, thanks to that defeat at Spezia – which left Milan fifth in Serie A – there is a prospect that this could be the club’s last appearance in the Champions League for at least a year.
The contrast with the mood at Inter is great. Simone Inzaghi’s Inter team have sputtered and stuttered for much of the season, but seem to have found their rhythm at the last minute. Inter have lost just once since the beginning of April and have won their last seven games in a row, a run that includes wins over Juventus, Lazio, Roma and Milan.
At San Siro last week – a match that was technically Milan’s home game – Inter seized control early and never looked to relinquish it, leaving Milan with only sporadic threat after two early goals secured a seemingly unassailable advantage . Inter have the more experienced, grayer team; for its return, it will also be able to appeal to some 70,000 fans.
As stimulating as Milan found chatting with his ultras, it’s hard to avoid the suspicion that talking won’t – eventually – be enough.
The first stage in review
To be fair, you only need to watch the first 30 seconds to see both goals that have Inter in the driver’s seat. But the really fun part is the club-produced commentary.
Inter, of course, loved it:
Extensive highlights (with English commentary) are here.
What’s next?
The winner of Inter-Milan qualifies for the final of the Champions League, which will take place in Istanbul on June 10. Any team will be happy to be back after an (for them) endless absence.
Inter last appeared in the final in 2010, when a team coached by José Mourinho defeated Bayern Munich 2–0 at the Bernabéu in Madrid. Milan last played in the final in 2007; it won its seventh and most recent title that night, 2–1 against Liverpool.