FILE PHOTO: Real Madrid turned the tie on its head in incredible fashion to send Man City crashing out. PICTURE: AP
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0 JOHANNESBURG: Manchester City and Inter Milan have booked their spot in the semi-finals of the Champions League courtesy of a 4-1 and 5-3 aggregate success over Bayern Munich and Benfica, respectively.
The Citizens had a huge advantage to bring into the second leg of Wednesday’s quarter-final at Allianz Arena following a 3-0 victory in the opening match in Manchester last week.
Pep Guardiola’s side were almost winners in Munich, with Erling Braut Haaland making up for an earlier penalty miss by netting in the 57th minute of the contest, but Joshua Kimmich converted a late spot kick to level the scores on the night.
Meanwhile, Inter Milan are through to a first Champions League semi-final since 2010 after beating Benfica 5-3 on aggregate. A 3-3 draw at San Siro has seen the Nerazzurri progress comfortably from a quarter-final in which they were always in complete control of.
Goals from Nicolo Barella, Lautaro Martinez and Joaquin Correa sealed progression, after Fredrik Aursnes had given the Portuguese visitors brief hope late in the first half.
Two late goals from Benfica saw them avoid defeat on the night, but it was not enough as the Portuguese league leaders crash out.
Simone Inzaghi’s side now have a blockbuster semi-final tie against local rivals AC Milan to come, after they saw off Napoli on Tuesday night.
Last week’s 2-0 success at the Estadio da Luz gave Inter a substantial cushion, and one they would have felt comfortable in hanging onto, considering the club have never lost a Champions League tie when leading by at least two goals from the first leg.
As it stands, Man City will take on the reigning champions Real Madrid in the semi-finals of the competition, while the other last-four clash will be a Milan derby between AC Milan and Inter Milan.
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