Victor Moses’ Inter Milan are through to the semi-final of the Europa League after a 2-1 defeat of Bayer Leverkusen on Monday.
Goals from Nicolo Barella and Romelu Lukaku were all the Italians needed to book their passage into the last four – rendering Kai Havertz’s strike a mere consolation.
Antonio Conte’s men silenced Getafe 2-0 in the Round of 16 to reach this stage alongside the Germans, who beat Steven Gerrard’s Rangers 4-1 on aggregate.
In a goal-laden first half, the Black and Blues took a 15th-minute lead as Barella scored a beauty after Lukaku’s initial shot was blocked.
Bayer Leverkusen were in for some trouble when the Belgium international doubled the lead six minutes later - squeezing the ball home after showing great strength to hold off Burkina Faso’s Edmond Tapsoba.
In the process, two records tumbled for the former Chelsea, Everton and Manchester United star.
9 - Romelu Lukaku has now scored in nine consecutive appearances in the Europa League; the longest goal-scoring run by a player in UEFA Cup/Europa League history. Dominant. #UEL pic.twitter.com/qWciZmAmWc
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 10, 2020
First, he became the first player to score in nine successive Europa League or Uefa Cup games, eclipsing the record of eight he previously shared with Newcastle United great Alan Shearer.
Also, he is the first player to score in six successive European matches for the Italian elite division outfit.
Thanks to Kevin Volland’s assist, Havertz pulled one goal back for Peter Bosz’s men in the 24th minute, nevertheless, that could not inspire their comeback.
Tapsoba was in action from start to finish, albeit, he was cautioned in the 87th minute by referee Carlos del Cerro for two fouls on Lukaku in quick succession.
🔄 | 59' - DOUBLE CHANGE
— Inter (@Inter_en) August 10, 2020
⬅ @gaglio94 and @ddambrosio
➡ @ChrisEriksen8 and @VictorMoses#InterLeverkusen 2⃣-1⃣#UEL #FORZAINTER ⚫🔵 pic.twitter.com/MlF9iNpKiC
For Moses, he was brought on for Italian defender Danilo D'Ambrosio in the 59th minute. For his contributions, the former Nigeria international made one tackle, one clearance, 17 touches, and eight passes with a passing accuracy of 87.5 %.
With this result, the Italians have reached their first European last four since 2009-10 season. They will face either Shakhtar Donetsk or FC Basel in the semi-finals as they look to end the campaign on a high.
So far, their season has been one of near misses, with Conte’s side reaching the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia before finishing second in Serie A, one point behind nine-time champions Juventus.