20:57
This game will be officiated by a Spanish team consisting of referee Jesús Gil Manzano, his assistants Diego Barbero and Ángel Nevado and video referee Juan Martínez Munuera. The referees have just led the two teams onto the pitch and in a few moments the Champions League anthem will be heard in the naturally packed San Siro!
20:47
On the other hand, Stefano Pioli was self-confident. “We knocked out Tottenham and Napoli, we can beat any team,” said the Milan coach. “We were in great form last time in the Champions League. Now we want to take the next step and reach the final. That would be incredible,” said Pioli, who didn’t want to overstate the importance of this first game with Inter: “We always have to remember that this semi-final lasts 180 minutes.”
20:34
Inter coach Simone Inzaghi didn’t really want to be looked at in the run-up to the game. “We’ve played so many Debys, we’ve won and we’ve lost. Of course we gathered information, but in the end every game is different,” said the former striker before the game. One thing is particularly important to Inzaghi: “We will have to sacrifice ourselves and it is crucial that everyone works for their team-mates.”
20:22
At Milan they are building on the fact that the team in the premier class has always been able to pull off its best performances this season. While local rivals Inter had two supposedly easier opponents on their way to the semi-finals in FC Porto and Benfica Lisbon, AC prevailed against Tottenham Hotspur and the new Italian champions Napoli. The Rossoneri are unbeaten in nine competitive games, but have only drawn five times and are worried about qualifying for the Champions League again in the league.
20:15
The current form speaks for Internazionale Milano. The Nerazzurri are in top form in the hot phase of the season and have all won the last five competitive games. And not against any opponent, but against the top clubs Juventus Turin, Lazio Roma and AS Roma. Inter are already in the cup final and are back on course for the Champions League after a slump in the winter. The last thing that was strong was the defensive, which has only conceded one goal in the last five games.
20:05
We’ll take a quick look at the line-ups and see that the most exciting question of the evening ended in the negative from AC Milan’s point of view. Rafael Leão did not recover in time after suffering an adductor injury at the weekend and is not included in the squad. In addition, the Rossoneri Junior Messiah rotates to the bench. New in the starting XI are Brahim Díaz and Alexis Saelemaekers. There are three changes at Inter. Edin Džeko, Lautaro Martínez and Henrikh Mkhitaryan start for Romelu Lukaku, Marcelo Brozović and Joaquín Correa (all bench).
19:58
It’s been exactly 20 years since there was a Derby della Madonnina in the semifinals of Europe’s most important club competition. At that time, AC Milan prevailed and then won the title. The Rossoneri won again in 2007, Inter last won the Champions League in 2010. After that, both disappeared a bit from the big stage and Italy was well represented internationally, above all by Juventus Turin. Now, after 13 years, a Milan club will reach the final again. But which one?
19:55
Hello and welcome to the UEFA Champions League! In the second semi-final there will be a duel between AC Milan and Inter in Milan. It starts at 9 p.m. in the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium!