Champions League: Dzeko Leads Inter Milan Past AC Milan To Boost Final Hopes

Edin Dzeko

Edin Dzeko was on target to help Inter Milan to a 2-0 win over AC Milan in the first leg of the 2022-23 Champions League semifinal, Sportivationng.com reports.

Inter have the upper hand ahead of Tuesday's second leg of the biggest Milan derby of a generation thanks to early strikes from Edin Dzeko and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

Simone Inzaghi's side were deserving winners at the San Siro after creating the bulk of the opportunities and barely letting Milan have a sniff in front of goal.

Inter could have won by a wider margin as Hakan Calhanoglu smashed a shot off the post and Dzeko wasted a great chance early in the second half, but they are still heavy favourites to reach the final of Europe's top club competition for the first time since they last won it 13 years ago.

The winners of the tie will face holders Real Madrid or Manchester City in the June 10 showpiece in Istanbul. The first leg of that semifinal finished 1-1 in Spain on Tuesday.

But once the match was underway there was really only one team on the pitch, with nominal away side Inter looking the more settled and dynamic off the back of five straight wins and the recent hot form of their attack.

It didn't take long for the away side to open the scoring and it was a fabulous Dzeko goal which did it in the eighth minute.

The Bosnia striker held off Davide Calabria and met Hakan Calhanoglu's inswinging corner with a perfect volley which left Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan with no chance.

With their tails up and their fans falling over each other with joy in the Curva Nord, Inter went for Milan and three minutes later Mkhitaryan doubled their lead.

Federico Dimarco was set scampering down the left flank and his low cut-back was first left by Lautaro Martinez and then collected by Armenian midfielder Mkhitaryan, who smashed in his fifth goal of the season.

Without Leao Milan created nothing of note and escaped being three goals down after just a quarter of an hour when Calhanoglu nearly silenced the boos of his former supporters with a long-range drive which crashed out off the post.

Milan, who also struck the woodwork through Sandro Tonali, have their work cut out if they want to have a chance at being crowned European champions for the eighth time and will hope Rafael Leao is available for next week's decisive clash. (Reuters)

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