Quarter - finals, Lukaku's goals and opposition penalties: Inter vs. Getafe, all you need to know

GELSENKIRCHEN – Inter’s 2-0 victory over Getafe saw them qualify for the quarter-finals of the Europa League. At 21:00 CEST on Monday 10 August, the Nerazzurri will face either Bayer Leverkusen or Rangers in Düsseldorf, with the Germans 3-1 up from the first leg.

A PLACE IN THE QUARTER-FINALS, NINE YEARS ON

The AufSchalke Arena wasn’t just the venue that played host to Inter’s win last night, it was also the stadium that the Nerazzurri played in when they were last involved in a European quarter-final clash. This came in the 2010/11 Champions League season, with Inter’s European adventure coming to an end with a 2-1 defeat to Schalke 04. The Nerazzurri are now set to play in the quarter-finals of the Europa League. So far in Europe this campaign, Conte’s team have managed to find the net in each of the nine fixtures they’ve played. The team have won five, drawn once and lost on three occasions.

LUKAKU'S 30-GOAL HAUL AND AFFINTY FOR THE EUROPA LEAGUE 

Against Getafe, Lukaku scored for the 30th time this season: the last Nerazzurri player to find the net at least 30 times in a single campaign was Samuel Eto’o in 2010/11 (37). Lukaku has now scored for eight consecutive matches in the Europa League (five while at Everton, three in three appearances with Inter). This is a joint Europa League record (including UEFA Cup matches), with Alan Shearer also managing to achieve the same feat for Newcastle in 2005. The last Inter player who managed to hit the back of the net at least three times in a single Europa League campaign was Palacio in 2014/15 (he scored four).

Lukaku hasn’t just been a regular goalscorer, he’s also provided five assists this season. In total, the Belgian striker has contributed to 33% of Inter’s goals this campaign, 35 out of 104 (30 goals, five assists).

PENALTIES... LUCK ON OUR SIDE

When Molina stepped up in front of Handanovic, he was probably unaware of the trend relating to spot-kicks and the Nerazzurri in the Europa League, one which doesn’t favour penalty-takers. The fact that he fired wide served to cement a peculiar stat: five of the six penalties awarded against Inter in the modern Europa League have been missed. Handanovic has faced four of these spot-kicks, saving three and watching yesterday’s attempt go out for a goal-kick. 

1. Inter 2-0 Getafe 05/08/2020 | Penalty-taker: Molina - Goalkeeper: Handanovic - Outcome: wide

2. Inter 2-1 Sparta Prague - 08/12/2016 | Penalty-taker: Dockal - Goalkeeper: Carrizo - Outcome: saved

3. Hapoel Be'er Sheva 3-2 Inter - 24/11/2016 | Penalty-taker: Nwakaeme - Goalkeeper: Carrizo - Outcome: gol 

4. Southampton 2-1 Inter - 03/11/2016 | Penalty-taker: Tadic - Goalkeeper: Handanovic - Outcome: parato

5. Inter 2-1 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk - 27/11/2014 | Penalty-taker: Konoplyanka - Goalkeeper: Handanovic - Outcome: parato

6. Inter 2-2 Rubin Kazan - 20/09/2012 | Penalty-taker: Natcho - Goalkeeper: Handanovic - Outcome: saved. 

BASTONI'S FIRST ASSIST AND ERIKSEN MAKING HIS MARK

Christian Eriksen has scored three goals and provided two assists in his last four Europa League appearances.

Against Getafe, Alessandro Bastoni provided the first assist of his professional career on his first start in European competition.