“The players deserve praise. It was a great achievement. We played in such a way that Shakhtar looked like an average team, ”said coach Antonio Conte, praising his team in the highest tones.
In the final on Friday evening (9 p.m.) in Cologne there will now be a duel with Sevilla FC. The Spaniards had thrown Manchester United out of the competition on Sunday with a 2-1 win.
Duel at a record level
Sevilla go into the final as the record winners of the competition. The Andalusians have won the second most important European Cup five times. From 2014 to 2016 they triumphed en suite in the Europa League three times, after having won the previous UEFA Cup competition in 2006 and 2007.
But Inter takes several current records into the final. A 5: 0 in a semi-final of the Europa League or the UEFA Cup had never happened until Monday. In the entire European Cup there was a 5-0 semi-final 31 years ago: At that time, Inter’s city rivals AC Milan defeated Real Madrid in the first leg in the European Cup of the national champions with the same result – and then also won the final in Barcelona against Steaua Bucharest clear with 4: 0.
Lukaku continues on the wave of success
Striker Romelu Lukaku played a major role in Inter’s final. The Belgian was unlucky for a long time on Monday, but then the 27-year-old scored twice (78th, 84th). This makes the Inter striker the first player to have scored at least one goal in ten consecutive Europa League games.
Lukaku only moved from England’s record champions Manchester United to Milan last summer. On Friday, he could finally build on the successes of the Brazilian megastar Ronaldo at Inter. The 2002 world champion and three-time world footballer (1996, 1997 and 2002), scored a total of 34 competitive goals in his first season for Inter in 1997/98 and ultimately won the UEFA Cup with the club. Lukaku has had 33 competitive goals for the Milanese since Monday.
“Seville has a lot of experience”
But even the euphoric Conte warned his team against cockiness. “We shouldn’t overestimate the result,” said the 51-year-old with a view to the impressive track record of the final opponent. “Many of us are experiencing a game like this for the first time in their careers, but Seville has a lot of experience.”
For Inter, Friday is also about the end of a dry spell: Since the Italian Cup triumph in 2011, the “Nerazzurri” have not won a title. “We are ready for great deeds,” said the Argentinian Inter striker Lautaro Martinez, who like Lukaku scored two goals (19th, 74th) against Shakhtar.
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