Inter Milan have one foot in the UEFA Champions League final after battering their old foes AC Milan 2-0 at the San Siro Stadium last week. Edin Dzeko and Henrikh Mkhitaryan found the back of the net to give Nerazzurri a dream start. The ex-Roma pair both struck within 11 minutes of the first whistle. Simone Inzaghi's side have now beaten their Rossoneri rivals three times this season, following earlier wins in the league and the Supercoppa Italiana. Inter have yet to trail at any point in the knockout stages, keeping a clean sheet in four of five games. This is in contrast to a record of 11 league defeats so far this season. 

The Nerrazuri are now on the brink of a sixth European Cup or Champions League final, which will be the club's first since 2010. They are only 90 minutes away from taking a place at Instanbul where the UCL final will be held next month. If Inter can hold on to their lead, reigning champions Real Madrid or Manchester City will await. The two clubs played out a tantalizing 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu last week. Inzaghi's men have recently been flying on top form and will kick of the second leg of the Champions League on the back of a seven-match winning run not to mention that their nemesis who have been dropping points domestically now trail Inter by five in the Serie A standings. Inter lie third in the league having played 35 games while AC Milan are fifth with 61 points having played a similar number of matches. 

AC Milan have now lost their last three games against their arch-rivals Inter without scoring a single goal even though they have attempted 31 shots in those matches. Such a sequence simply cannot continue if they are to salvage something from the clubs' semi-final tie. In the history of the Champions League, only one team has lost the first leg of a semi by two or more goals and then went on to go through. Liverpool are the only exception with their incredible comeback against Barcelona in 2019. Milan striker Divock Origi memorably scored twice in that game. However, he was unable to find the back of the net during the weekend as AC Milan were beaten 2-0 by Spezia. 

Stefano Pioli's squad has which has been hampered by a batch of injuries was humbled by the Serie A strugglers leaving them four points adrift of the top four with only three fixtures left to play. After dethroning Inter as Italian champions last year, they have recently had to hand over the scudetto to Napoli and now their hopes of lifting Europe's most coveted club trophy hang by the slimmest of threads as they head to the San Siro Stadium knowing that they will have to come back from two goals down if they are to stand a chance. 

(Image: Goal.com)