A pokerissimo from the final. Inter asphalt Shakhtar with an unquestionable 5-0 and thus detaches the ticket for the "night in Cologne", decisive for the assignment of the Europa League. On Friday, Conte's men will have the chance to bring a trophy back to their showcase after 9 years, but above all to give a new lease of life to an Italian football which, in terms of international titles, is stuck in 2010, when Inter lifted the Champions League in that of Madrid. This time it's a lower cup, but the importance is still very high: for the club, for the fans and for Conte, all united in the hunt for triumph. However, we will only think about Sevilla in a few hours, because first there is the right desire to enjoy a semi-final that has been swept away, from all points of view. The 5-0 win in Duisburg leaves no room for recriminations, given that Inter took over the match from the first minutes, transforming Shakhtar into a sparring partner of dubious value.
In reality, the Ukrainians, as we saw in the quarter-finals against Basel, are far from scarce, yet the Nerazzurri have been able to attack them both physically and tactically, forcing them into a nightmarish night. Great credit goes to the Lukaku-Lautaro couple, who have returned to pre-Covid levels and, obviously, to Antonio Conte, commander in chief of a boat that has returned to racing for a trophy: the regatta is not over yet, indeed there is on the horizon the toughest opponent met so far, but the satisfaction is still great.
"I have to say well done to the players, I feared this match so much, instead we made Shakhtar look like a normal team, we didn't let them play - the Nerazzurri coach enthusiastically commented - Now there's Sevilla who have great experience but we're hungry. enthusiasm, desire to amaze. Let's recover energy and give joy to our fans, who will be proud of these guys who are giving their soul”.
A festive atmosphere that inevitably also infected the management, as can be seen from the celebratory tweet from President Zhang ("To all Inter fans in the world, let's go to the final all together... let's go!"), but above all from the words of Marotta, moreover to arrive before the match. “Conte's outburst? All now forgotten – explained the CEO – A growing season finale in the first year with a new coach is a positive sign, I think our players have had the right experience and this will help in the future”.
"At that moment I felt certain things and I declared them, what I say is always constructive, then certain situations are emphasized in the press - commented the coach - If we want to be Inter we have to go through certain steps, I'm a person who look to the point: I say what I think, but always in a constructive way”. In short, peace made, after all a European final does not happen every year and then Conte is like this, take it or leave it. At the moment Inter are taking, also because team and coach, after the famous outburst in Bergamo, are united as never before.
Yesterday too we saw a high-level match, finalized by a "Lu-La" more ruthless than ever. Lautaro broke the deadlock with a nice header in the 19th minute, then in the 64th minute, shortly after risking an equalizer in the only real chance given to Shakhtar (Junior Moraes' gap on Handanovic), D'Ambrosio doubled , kicking off the Nerazzurri party. Lautaro signed the 3-0 again with a nice right from the edge (74'), after which Lukaku let loose, author of a brace (78' and 84') which brings him to 33 goals this season (10 games in a row to score in the Europa League), only one less than the first Ronaldo, who reached 34.
That year, the Phenomenon finished second in the league and, above all, won the UEFA Cup, ancestor of the Europa League: analogies that allow us to make spells, but also to dream. Something that the Inter people have wanted to do for some time and which now, thanks to this unusual August with football, can finally become a reality.
