Inter eye ultimate glory over AC Milan in all-important Champions League semis

Simone Inzaghi said Tuesday that Inter Milanrsquos Champions League semifinal with rivals AC Milan is more than just another local derbyThe Milan giants who between them have been crowned European champions ten times face off on Wednesday in the biggest match between the two sides in nearly two decades and Inter coach Inzaghi is well aware of its importanceIt will be the first time the Serie A pair have played each other in Europersquos top club competition after 2005rsquos socalled ldquoderby of shamerdquo a quarterfinal won by Milan whose second leg was abandoned after livid Inter fans launched a barrage of flares onto the San Siro pitch with their team way behind in the tielsquoIrsquom feeling calmrsquoldquoItrsquos not a derby itrsquos THE derbyrdquo Inzaghi told reporters ldquoWe know what it means for us the club our fans and myself But Irsquom feeling calm because Irsquove seen that the boys are very concentrated Over the last 20 months wersquove played seven derbies wersquove won and wersquove lostSimone InzaghildquoEvery match is its own story there will be times when we will be more offensive and times when we will more defensive Just as we did in the last 16 and quarters we will have to play all together and make sacrificesrdquoInter come into the match on a run of five straight wins and with a previously misfiring attack suddenly banging in the goalsAlso Read Inters LuLa attack back to its best for CL derby vs MilanInzaghirsquos side have scored fourteen goals in that run ten of which have been netted by the forwards with Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez both in a hot streakldquoWe had a period in which the attackers werenrsquot having a great time but now thankfully they have started scoring again and thatrsquos what we wantrdquo said InzaghiMeanwhile Olivier Giroud said on Tuesday that he has a young manrsquos hunger for European success ahead of AC Milanrsquos allItalian Champions League semifinal with Inter MilanGiroud lsquohungryrsquo for successVeteran France striker Giroud won the competition with Chelsea in 2021 and wants to continue his Indian summer at Milan with another triumph after winning the Serie A title last seasonMilan host local rivals Inter on Wednesday in the first leg of the biggest local derby the Italian city has seen for nearly two decades ldquoIrsquom motivated more than ever For me itrsquos a big opportunity to win it again Almost 37 years old but still hungry like a young boyrdquo Giroud told reportersldquoIn football itrsquos never good to underestimate the others I know what Irsquom talking about At that level every single game is very tough and itrsquos on small margins small details that you win itrdquoThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever