Milan divided

Milan, May 9

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First came a return to the top of Italian football, now comes a chance to reach the Champions League final.

The Milan teams are back. But only one will get the opportunity to compete for European football’s top prize as AC Milan face city rivals Inter Milan in the semifinals of the Champions League.

The victor will face either Real Madrid or Manchester City in the final.

Three-time European champions Inter were the last Italian club to lift the trophy, when they won an unprecedented treble of the league, Italian Cup and Champions League under Jose Mourinho in 2010.

Milan won the last of their seven titles in 2007.

“To be part of a club like this is a dream,” Milan defender Fikayo Tomori said. “To go and play in the San Siro, seeing it on the Champions League nights … it’s such an iconic stadium, such an iconic sort of club. The fact that two Italian teams are in the semifinals … it’s obviously good for the league, good for Italian football.”

Inter Milan’s LuLa attack appears back to its best ahead of the showdown.

The partnership of Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez earned the LuLa nickname during the former’s first spell at the club, when their goals drove Inter to the Serie A title in 2021.

While Martinez has continued to spearhead the attack since then, Lukaku had struggled with injury and poor form after returning on loan from Chelsea in the off-season. However, Lukaku has now struck three goals in as many Serie A games — doubling his tally for the season. He has also contributed further with three assists in those matches. Martinez has netted five times in his past four games to take his tally to 19 in the league.

While Simone Inzaghi has almost a fully fit squad to choose from, Milan coach Stefano Pioli could be missing a key player. — AP