Lukaku's late goal ensures victory in the first leg
Team
— Feb 22nd 20236 MIN READING
Romelu bags an 86th-minute winner against Porto, meaning the Nerazzurri will take a lead to Portugal
INTER 1-0 PORTO
Goalscorer: 86' Lukaku (I)
INTER (3-5-2): 24 Onana; 37 Skriniar (2 Dumfries 81'), 15 Acerbi, 95 Bastoni; 36 Darmian, 23 Barella, 20 Calhanoglu, 22 Mkhitaryan (77 Brozovic 72'), 32 Dimarco (8 Gosens 58'); 9 Dzeko (90 Lukaku 58'), 10 Lautaro. Substitutes: 1 Handanovic, 21 Cordaz, 5 Gagliardini, 6 De Vrij, 12 Bellanova, 14 Asllani, 33 D'Ambrosio, 45 Carboni. Coach: Simone Inzaghi.
PORTO (4-4-2): 99 Diogo Costa; 23 João Mário (70 Gonçalo Borges 92'), 3 Pepe, 5 Marcano, 12 Zaidu; 25 Otavio, 8 Uribe, 16 Grujic, 13 Galeno (30 Evanilson 51'); 11 Pepê Aquino, 9 Taremi (22 Wendell 83'). Substitutes: 14 Claudio Ramos, 2 Cardoso, 4 Carmo, 17 Conceiçao, 19 Namaso, 20 André Franco, 29 T. Martinez, 46 Eustaquio, 87 Bernardo Folha. Coach: Sergio Conceiçao.
Booked: Dimarco (I), Otavio (P), Pepê Aquino (P) Sent off: Otavio (P), 78', for a second bookable offence Added time: 2' - One booking away from suspension: Lautaro, Bastoni (I); Simone Inzaghi (I) Suspended: -
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Jovanović (SRB). Assistants: Stojković, Mihajlović (SRB). Fourth official: Simović (SRB). VAR: Dankert (GER). VAR assistant: Fritz (GER).
Love is a beacon raised above the storm (“Amore è un faro fisso che sovrasta la tempesta”). The Nerazzurri fans cited Shakespeare to usher in the first-leg showdown between Inter and Porto in the round of 16 of the Champions League. And then they watched a match that didn’t disappoint: it was intense, exhausting, electrifying and yet also not always easy on the eye. The two teams went to battle, showing their desire to win the first leg and increase their hopes of making it to the next round. Just like love endures, the Nerazzurri’s will to win remained throughout, and they got their award in the final stages as Romelu Lukaku forced the ball home to ensure that it finished Inter 1-0 Porto.
The first leg went Inter's way, then. The long-awaited winner arrived four minutes from the end of normal time, and it was Romelu who got it. After initially hitting the post, the Belgian reacted quickly to beat the highly impressive Diogo Costa. The other goalkeeper out on the pitch also made a significant contribution this evening, keeping Inter on level terms at a very complicated time of the match. Then, after Otavio had been sent off for a second bookable offence, the Nerazzurri threw everything at Conceiçao's side, eventually making the breakthrough.
Going back to the start, the game kicked off at a very high pace in a fantastic atmosphere, with 75,374 fans making San Siro a cauldron of noise. Dimarco had the first effort of the match, after which Calhanoglu tested Diogo Costa in the Porto goal. The visitors defended resolutely as their initial 4-4-2 soon became a very fluid 3-2-4-1, making it difficult to pick men up and resulting in some quick, direct counters. Nevertheless, Onana wasn't troubled until the half-hour mark, when he managed to keep out an attempt from Grujic with his legs, with Galeno then heading the rebound wide. Things became heated as Darmian was seemingly caught in the box, and, after a scuffle, Dimarco and Otavio were both booked. Right at the end of the half, Diogo Costa produced a sublime stop to keep out Bastoni's glancing header from Dimarco's free-kick.
After the restart, Barella let fly with a fine first-time effort across goal that briefly had Diogo Costa very worried, but, during the most difficult moment of the game for Inzaghi's side, Porto then came close just before the hour mark. First, Onana denied Uribe on the counter (55'), after which the Inter goalkeeper made a brilliant double save to thwart Zaidu and Taremi after Skriniar had blocked a shot from Zaidu. It was a key moment that allowed Inter to remain on level terms and push on, also thanks to Inzaghi's substitutions.
Brozovic came on and started to dictate the tempo, Gosens was patrolling the left flank and Lukaku was making a nuisance of himself up front. Porto were content to try and hit Inter on the break, and then came Otavio's red card (two yellows). Inter piled on the pressure and got their reward in the 86th minute: Lukaku met Barella's right-wing cross and initially headed against the post, but he then adjusted himself quickly to fire home the rebound. Diogo Costa had finally been beaten, but he didn't allow Romelu to score a second in the 90th minute.
The 1-0 victory at San Siro was met by applause from the crowd, but there's still a second leg to be played in Portugal on 14 March.
LIVE UPDATES
FULL-TIME: INTER 1-0 PORTO
90' Four minutes added on.
86' GOOOAAAALLLLLLLLLL! Lukaku initially hits the post with his header from Barella's cross, but the Belgian then converts the rebound! 1-0 to Inter!
84' Barella goes for the spectacular but it flies wide.
78' Otavio receives a second yellow and is sent off: Porto are down to ten men.
74' Another Porto counter ends with Taremi curling off target.
72' Lautaro is just unable to get on the end of Lukaku's low ball to the far post. So close!
69' Lukaku chests it down for Barella, who shoots over from the edge of the box.
57' Skriniar makes a brilliant block before Onana produces a fantastic double stop to thwart Taremi and Zaidu. Barella then clears.
55' Porto almost hit Inter on the counter as Uribe gets a shot away in the box. Onana makes the save.
52' Barella beats the offside trap, gets on the end of Skriniar's long ball and fires just wide with a fine first-time effort!
46' Back to it at San Siro!
LIVE UPDATES
HALF-TIME: INTER 0-0 PORTO
45+2' Diogo Costa makes an incredible save to keep out Bastoni's glancing header from Dimarco's free-kick.
45' Two minutes have been added on.
37' Onana saves with his legs to deny Grujic and Galeno is unable to convert the rebound with his head.
32' Lautaro makes an important block in his own box before failing to connect with ball properly at the other end.
27' Grujic has a go from distance but the ball flies over the bar.
18' Calhanoglu's right-footed effort is punched out from under the bar by the goalkeeper.
13' A big chance for Lautaro, who heads over from Dimarco's left-wing cross!
3' Dimarco's early volley from Darmian's cross is charged down by the Porto defence.
1' Inter vs. Porto kicks off at San Siro!
ROUND OF 16 - THE SCHEDULE
FIRST LEG (21:00 CET)
Tuesday 14 February PSG 0-1 Bayern Munich AC Milan 1-0 Tottenham
Wednesday 15 February Club Brugge 0-2 Benfica Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Chelsea
Tuesday 21 February Eintracht Frankfurt 0-2 Napoli Liverpool 2-5 Real Madrid
Wednesday 22 February Inter 1-0 Porto RB Leipzig 1-1 Manchester City
SECOND LEG (21:00 CET)
Tuesday 7 March Chelsea vs. Borussia Dortmund Benfica vs. Club Brugge
Wednesday 8 March Bayern Munich vs. PSG Tottenham vs. AC Milan
Tuesday 14 March Porto vs. Inter Manchester City vs. RB Leipzig
Wednesday 15 March Napoli vs. Eintracht Frankfurt Real Madrid vs. Liverpool
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ROUND OF 16 RULES
The away goals rule has been cancelled, so matches that remain tied in terms of the number of goals scored over the home and away fixtures will go into extra time. If the result still remains tied after the 30-minute extra time period, then it will go to penalty kicks. The draw for the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will take place on Friday, 17 March. The draw will determine the legs at that time, with the fixtures for the semi-finals already set.
The final of the Champions League 2022/23 will be played on 10 June 2023 at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul.