Inter Milan reached the Champions League quarter finals for the first time in more than a decade after surviving a late barrage of pressure at Porto to escape with a 0-0 draw which took them through 1-0 on aggregate on Tuesday.
It was a disappointing night for the home fans at a sold-out Dragao stadium as the Portuguese champions tried in vain to wipe out the narrow deficit from the first leg in Italy.
Violence rules the streets of Naples hours before city club Napoli get ready to host Eintracht Frankfurt in a Champions League round-of-16 game on Wednesday. In this Twitter image, a car is seen burning, allegedly set on fire by the fans of the visiting team
Then Ivan Marcano’s effort was blocked on the goalline by Denzel Dumfries and headers from Mehdi Taremi and Marko Grujic hit the post and bar respectively as Porto finally came alive.
Defender Pepe was then sent off for a second yellow card and Inter joined city rivals AC Milan in the quarter final draw, the first time they have reached the last eight since 2006.
“We played an excellent game, the group stayed compact and played a great match.
“Excellent first half. In the last part of the match we all suffered together”, Inter coach Simone Inzaghi told Mediaset.
“In football, luck matters relatively. In the two-legged match we deserved to advance. Now we will play with a lot of confidence.”
A disciplined Inter side seemed content to hold onto their lead and did not face a serious threat until added time.
After earning a hardfought win in the first leg against a Porto side who went to Italy with an ultra-defensive game plan, Inzaghi’s side took a careful approach that paid off as his players preserved the lead with a steadfast display.
They waited for their hosts to show their hand but Porto never really hit their stride. Not until late on, when coach Sergio Conceicao brought on Toni Martinez and Danny Namaso to make it three up front, did Porto throw everything at Inter in a move that almost worked in stoppage time when they were thwarted by the woodwork.
