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Tag: Inter Milan

  • Inter Milan sign on Mkhitaryan from AS Roma

    Inter Milan have signed former Borussia Dortmund attacker Henrikh Mkhitaryan from league rivals AS Roma, the Italian Serie A runners-up confirmed on Saturday.

    The 33-year-old Armenian Mkhitaryan has signed a two-year deal to 2024, according to media reports, after leaving Europa Conference League champions Roma on a free transfer.

    Mkhitaryan played from 2013 to 2016 for Borussia Dortmund and joined AS Roma in 2019 after spells with Arsenal and Manchester United.

    He is Inter Milan’s second addition to their front line this close season after the loan signing of their former star Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea.

  • Chelsea teammates angry with Romelu Lukaku

    Chelsea teammates angry with Romelu Lukaku

    Romelu Lukaku reportedly left angered his Chelsea team-mates last season.

    The Belgian was signed from Inter Milan in the summer of 2021 in a deal worth £97m.

    But Lukaku endured a tough debut campaign, making just 15 Premier League starts.

    He completed a season-long loan move back to Inter this week, and it doesn’t look like he’ll be returning to Chelsea after falling out with Thomas Tuchel.

    But Tuchel wasn’t the only one annoyed with Lukaku, with The Athletic reporting the 29-year-old was unpopular with some of his teammates.

    Some players in the first-team group believed Lukaku thought he was ‘better’ than them.

    Chelsea are hoping to seal a £55m deal for Leeds attacker Raphinha and Manchester City star Raheem Sterling.

  • Transfer: Lukaku agrees personal terms with Serie A club

    Transfer: Lukaku agrees personal terms with Serie A club

    Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku has agreed on a return to Inter Milan, it has been revealed.

    La Gazzetta dello Sport says the 29-year-old has agreed to rejoin Inter on loan for the 2022-23 campaign, with the move now in the hands of both clubs.

    Lukaku re-joined the Blues last summer for a club-record of £98m after spearheading Inter’s run to the Serie A title but has struggled to make an impact at Stamford Bridge, scoring just eight Premier League goals.

    He would earn £6.4m-a-year in wages at Inter, lower than the £10.2m plus £2.5m in add-ons he earns with Chelsea – a definite drop of £3.8m.

    It goes on to detail that Inter are looking to reach an agreement with Chelsea before the end of June to take advantage of the Growth Decree rule.

    The scheme lets teams in Italy buy players from abroad with significant tax breaks, as long as they stay in the country for at least 24 months.

  • I wanted Premier League move since 2009 – Perisic

    Ivan Perisic is happy to have finally sealed his move to Premier League side, Tottenham.

    Perisic joins Spurs from Inter Milan in a Bosman deal, signing a two-year contract in the process.

    He said: “From the first time I was in contact with the coach and sporting director I told them that I really wanted to come here.

    “Ever since 2009, when I started playing professional football in Belgium, I was so close a few times to coming to the Premier League and, at last, this is the moment. I can’t wait.

    “I’m going to bring, first of all, a lot of hard work. I like to work a lot, I like to work for the team because only like this you can win something important. I can play several positions in the system Tottenham is playing now. I will bring a lot of experience as well, I’ve played for a lot of great clubs and, like I said, I can’t wait to start to play, to train and give my best.”

    Perisic’s arrival at Spurs brings him back together with manager Antonio Conte – he featured 42 times, including 32 of 38 Serie A matches, as Conte guided Inter to their first Scudetto since 2009/10 in 2020/21.

    “It’s a privilege to work again with a coach like this,” said Perisic. “We did well at Inter, won the league after 10 or 11 years, it was a perfect year. I’m really happy to see him again. I think we’re going to do some good things here in England.

    “He’s living football, every minute, every hour, every day, even when he’s sleeping, he’s thinking about football! He’s so passionate. He wants to win. I like his character and I know we’re going to do a great job here.

    “Like I said, I can’t wait to start, to train, to play in this amazing stadium, I think we will have a great time and we can do a great job here.”

  • Inter Milan miss chance to go top of Serie A

    Inter Milan miss chance to go top of Serie A

    Nicola Sansone scored a late winner as Inter Milan relinquished their grasp on the Scudetto on Wednesday, failing to return to the Serie A summit after a 2-1 defeat at Bologna.

    AC Milan regained top spot in the league with late victory at Lazio on Sunday and Inter Milan needed a good response.

    And in their game in hand at Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, Ivan Perisic struck after just three minutes.

    Marko Arnautovic restored parity against his former side 25 minutes later, though.

    Sansone profited from an Ionut Radu mistake with nine minutes remaining to seal an unlikely victory.

    Defeat left Inter Milan two points behind leaders AC Milan with four games left to play as the neighbours battle for the title.

    Perisic blasted Inter Milan into an early lead in expert fashion, nutmegging Musa Barrow before powering a left-footed thunderbolt into the top-right corner.

    A stinging drive from Federico Dimarco tested Lukasz Skorupski, before Lautaro Martinez wastefully fired over a presentable rebound to double the lead.

    Arnautovic then levelled things up by heading Barrow’s left-wing cross into the bottom-right corner, while Denzel Dumfries spurned a headed chance from Perisic’s centre at the other end.

    Dimarco blazed over after the interval and twice tamely found Skorupski’s hands when unmarked from the edge of the area, before the Bologna goalkeeper denied Milan Skriniar’s goal-bound header.

    Inzaghi sent on forwards Edin Dzeko and Alexis Sanchez in search of a late winner, but it was starting striker Martinez who headed over Hakan Calhanoglu’s corner-kick.

    Radu then handed Bologna victory as he missed a simple Perisic pass backwards, with Sansone converting a simple tap in to punish the Inter Milan goalkeeper.

    Reigning champions Inter Milan were unbeaten in 15 previous visits to Bologna in Serie A and dominated once more.

    But they were punished for failing to make their dominance pay against Miroslav Tanjga’s side.

    Inter Milan will look to respond in their title charge when they visit Udinese on Sunday, while Bologna travel to Roma on the same day.

  • Lukaku move to Chelsea a wrong choice – Evra

    Lukaku move to Chelsea a wrong choice – Evra

    Former Manchester United left-back Patrice Evra says Romelu Lukaku should never have left Inter Milan.

    Evra insists Lukaku’s Chelsea move has flopped.

    He said: “People who criticise him have a short memory.

    “Because when he arrived in London he scored and did well; then he got injured and said he missed Inter. In the end, he created a bit of a mess with the (Chelsea) fans.

    “He wanted to return to Chelsea at all costs, he should have stayed at Inter after such a high-level season. He made that choice there which for me is wrong.”

  • Inter Milan hand Serie A title rivals further impetus

    Inter Milan hand Serie A title rivals further impetus

    Inter Milan’s hopes of a second straight Scudetto took another hit as they were held 1-1 by Fiorentina in Milan.

    The reigning Serie A champions have now won just two of their past nine league matches after their stuttering form continued on Saturday.

    Coach Simone Inzaghi had suggested Inter Milan have deserved more from recent performances.

    But he may struggle to argue his case following a match in which Fiorentina initially lacked cutting edge but merited their lead through Lucas Torreira.

    Although Denzel Dumfries soon responded with a leveller, it was not followed by a winner.

    It means Inter Milan have taken just four points from their past four games at San Siro.

    The Nerazzurri knew they needed a result after Napoli’s win earlier in the day, yet they were on the back foot until late in the first half.

    That was when Pietro Terracciano had to be sharp off his line to block from Edin Dzeko.

    Terracciano was grateful for an offside flag against Lautaro Martinez after Dumfries’ deflected shot gave the forward a simple finish.

    An incisive move early in the second half saw Fiorentina in front instead.

    Gaetano Castrovilli fizzed a pass into the feet of Nico Gonzalez, who skipped past Ivan Perisic and squared for Torreira to score his second goal in as many matches.

    Inter Milan were behind for just over five minutes before Perisic floated a cross towards the back post, where Dumfries arrived to nod in.

    A penalty kick awarded in Martinez’s favour was overturned following a VAR check as the hosts were frustrated again.

    Inter Milan ultimately needed Samir Handanovic to produce a vital stoppage-time save from Jonathan Ikone to preserve a point.

  • UCL: Liverpool survive Inter Milan scare as Bayern Munich thrash FC Salzburg

    UCL: Liverpool survive Inter Milan scare as Bayern Munich thrash FC Salzburg

    Liverpool on Tuesday slipped to a shock defeat against Inter Milan at Anfield but managed to seal their place into the Champions League quarterfinals with a 2-1 aggregate victory.

    Lautaro Martinez’s wonder strike sealed a 1-0 win for the reigning Serie A champions but Inter failed to capitalise after Alexis Sanchez was sent off moments after the goal.

    It is Liverpool’s first defeat in the competition this season but their 2-0 win at the San Siro last month was enough to seal their place in the final eight.

    Jurgen Klopp’s side can now turn their attention to the Premier League with fixtures against Brighton and Arsenal to come in quick succession.

    The first half was a tight affair with Inter edging the early stages as they pressed for an early goal but failed to create any clear-cut opportunity.

    The game was stopped after 25 minutes when Liverpool supporters in the Kop stand alerted the referee and players to a medical emergency.

    The match resumed and moments later, Liverpool almost took the lead on the night but Joel Matip’s header rattled off the crossbar.

    Virgil Van Dijk came close to scoring from the resulting corner but Milan Skriniar made a stunning block to deny the Liverpool captain.

    The hosts hit the woodwork again shortly after the break when Mohamed Salah’s close-range effort struck the bottom of the post.

    Just after the hour mark, Inter silenced Anfield as Martinez hit a stunning strike from outside of the box that arrowed into the top corner.

    Inter’s momentum was immediately halted seconds later when Sanchez received a second yellow card and the visitors were reduced to 10 men.

    Liverpool started to dominate possession after the sending off and hit the woodwork for a third time after Salah’s effort struck the post.

    Substitute Luis Diaz went close in stoppage time but his goalbound effort was cleared off the line by Arturo Vidal.

    Liverpool have now reached the last eight of the Champions League for the fourth time in the last five seasons.

    Bayern Munich thrash FC Salzburg to reach Champions League quarterfinals

    Meanwhile, Robert Lewandowski scored three times as Bayern Munich rolled into the Champions League quarterfinals with a 7-1 win over FC Salzburg at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday.

    The Bundesliga leaders won the tie 8-2 on aggregate after a 1-1 draw against the Austrian side in Salzburg on Feb. 16.

    Lewandowski had the hosts up two goals by the 21st minute, drawing a pair of fouls in the penalty area — both against Maximilian Wober — and calmly dispatching the resulting spot kicks to make it 2-0.

    Lewandowski completed his first-half trick minutes later with a goal from close range and Serge Gnabry added Bayern’s fourth soon after following a Salzburg giveaway to effectively put the game to bed almost before it began.

    Thomas Muller got on the scoresheet early in the second half, sweeping home from a Leroy Sane assist.

    Maurits Kjaergaard managed to pull one back for Salzburg with a powerful shot that beat Manuel Neuer at his near post.

    It was too little, too late for Salzburg, though, who were making the first knockout round appearance for an Austrian side in Champions League history.

    Muller hit his second and Sane scored two minutes later as Julien Naglesmann’s side put further gloss on the scoreline en route to a 20th Champions League quarterfinal berth for the Bavarians.

    The result marked the second time in Bayern Munich history they scored seven goals in a UCL knockout round match, the other being their infamous 8-2 win over FC Barcelona in the 2020 quarterfinals.

  • Lukaku doesn’t match Inter Milan quality – Di Canio

    Lukaku doesn’t match Inter Milan quality – Di Canio

    Lazio great Paolo di Canio has urged Inter Milan to forget about re-signing Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea.

    After his struggles in London, Lukaku is being linked with a return to the Nerazzurri.

    But Di Canio says: “He’d be very expensive considering that he’d be a reserve in this Inter side.

    “Inter have a different playing style, with more quality and a striker [Edin Dzeko] almost playing as an attacking midfielder.

    “Lukaku doesn’t have this quality.”

  • Giroud’s late brace, moves AC Milan closer to Serie A leaders

    Giroud’s late brace, moves AC Milan closer to Serie A leaders

    Olivier Giroud scored a quickfire late double to earn AC Milan a dramatic 2-1 win over Inter Milan at San Siro on Saturday.

    The victory moved his side within a point of the Serie A leaders.

    AC Milan had taken just one point from their previous two matches and were on the verge of losing again.

    This was after Ivan Perisic’s first-half volley had Inter Milan firmly in control of Saturday’s clash.

    But goalkeeper Mike Maignan ensured the designated visitors were still in the game and, from pretty much out of nowhere, AC Milan caught Inter Milan cold due to Giroud’s double.

    The France international contentiously converted from close range to equalise in the 75th minute.

    He completed the turnaround three minutes later to stun Simone Inzaghi’s side.

    AC Milan’s only blot was a late red card for Theo Hernandez.

    Denzel Dumfries had an early goal ruled out for offside and was later denied from a one-on-one by Maignan, who was also equal to Marcelo Brozovic’s deflected drive.

    Samir Handanovic was also needed to deny Sandro Tonali, but the breakthrough arrived in the 38th minute when Perisic volleyed in ex-AC Milan winger Calhanoglu’s corner-kick.

    Stefano Pioli turned to Junior Messias and Brahim Diaz in the second half but AC Milan continued to pose little attacking threat until a dramatic final quarter to the game.

    Giroud slid in to convert Diaz’s deflected shot, though Inter Milan were unhappy the goal was allowed to stand.

    This was because the goalscorer clattered into Alexis Sanchez at the start of the move.

    Inter Milan failed to compose themselves and conceded another almost instantly as Giroud held off Stefan de Vrij and fired in a shot that squirmed under the hand of Handanovic.

    Theo Hernandez was dismissed deep into added time for a rash challenge on Dumfries, though AC Milan saw out a huge win that keeps the Scudetto race wide open.