Heading into their semi-final matchup against Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter Milan was the clear favorite to win and advance to play Sevilla in the Europa League final on Friday night.
With their 5-0 win over the Ukranian giants, Inter proved that they are a force to be reckoned with and are now on the doorstep of bringing home their first trophy since the 2011 Coppa Italia.
Inter got off to a quick start, taking a 1-0 advantage after a Lautaro Martinez strike beat Shakhtar keeper Andriy Pyatov in the 19th minute. The Italians were unable to increase their lead before the break as their opposition did their best and held together defensively.
It looked as if the second half could be a tense affair until Danilo D’Ambrosio’s goal made it 2-0 in the 61st minute of the match. After that, the floodgates opened.
Lautaro found the net again in the 74th minute to put the game completely out of reach at 3-0, and then Romelu Lukaku scored a pair of goals in the 78th and 83rd minutes to push the scoreboard to a blowout 5-0 final.
It was a dominant performance by Inter, and they will look to take down Europa League giants Sevilla, the winner of the most titles in the competition’s history with five, on Friday night in Cologne.
