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Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi praised the character and winning mentality of his players after playing two legs against city rivals AC and advancing to the Champions League final. According to the 47-year-old coach, the success is all the more valuable because it comes after another derby win. The joy of the first final after 13 years was also shared by club president Steven Zhang, whose success in the millionaires competition was predicted by striker Romelu Lukaku.

“Before the start of the season, Lukaku told me we would reach the Champions League final. At that time I thought he was just kidding.Zhang was quoted as saying by agency Mediaset. “Inter is a club with a great history and many trophies. There is only one goal here, to win every game.” added the Chinese businessman.

The Nerazzurri sealed a 2-0 win from their opening game with a 1-0 victory on Tuesday. The derby at San Siro, the home stadium of the two big clubs, was decided in the 74th minute by captain Lautaro Martínez. Inter reached the final of the Champions League for the first time since the 2009/10 season, when they won all competitions under José Mourinho.

“At first it was more like a dream, on the other hand, we kept believing. We had an amazing winning streak, and we went to the final after winning the derby. That makes everything sweeter. I have only a few words to say. kudos to my players, they showed quality, determination, aggressiveness and concentration.” named Inzaghi, who ranks among the club’s coaching legends. He led Inter to the final of Europe’s most prestigious competition as the second Italian after Giovanni Invernizzi.

“We did a good job in both games. The key was the team. I had a similar experience from the World Cup – when you are united you play these important games in the best way possible.” said Argentine forward Martínez in an interview with Sky Sport television. “It will be a dream come true to win the Champions League after the world championship. I don’t even want to talk about it,” he added.

The 25-year-old Argentinian has the chance to have a very successful season with Inter. After winning the Italian Super Cup, also over AC, Inzaghi’s men also advanced to the Italian Cup final, where they will face Fiorentina in a week.

Inter won only one of their nine competitive matches between mid-March and mid-April and Inzaghi has come under fire. The breakthrough came on April 23 after a 3-0 league win over Empoli. Since then, the big Milan club has had success eight times in a row. Moreover, he beat rivals AC for the fourth time in a row with a clean sheet, which happened for the first time in history.

“I have said several times that we just need to look at our performances, and not settle how we do in which competition. Give your best every time and play every game to win.” Inzaghi pointed.

The former striker will now wait to see who Inter will face on June 10 in Istanbul in a duel for the “eared” cup. The second leg of the second semi-final between Manchester City and Real Madrid was on the agenda tonight, with the first leg in Spain ending in a 1-1 draw.

“Both teams are among the best in Europe. We won’t be the favorites in the final, but anything is possible in football. We played Real last year and even though we lost both games, we put in a good performance. Manchester City’s form at the moment needs no more far comment. We will wait who we will meet in the final” concluded Inzaghi.

As well as AC, Inter eliminated Portuguese side Porto and Benfica Lisbon on their way to the final. In the group, he dealt with Viktoria Plzeň twice.

Inter dominated the Milan derby for the fourth time this year, captain Lautaro Martínez providing the last straw