Image copyright: Getty Images
2022/23 UEFA Champions League
Round of 16
Second leg
Porto v Inter Milan
Estadio do Dragao
Porto, Portugal
Tuesday, 14 March 2023
Kick-off is at 21h00
Inter Milan will take the narrowest of advantages into their
UEFA Champions League last-16, second leg clash with Porto at the Estadio do Dragao on Tuesday, March 14.
The Nerazzurri triumphed 1-0 in the first leg at the San Siro on February 22, courtesy of Romelu Lukaku's 86th-minute goal after Otavio had been sent off for the visitors eight minutes earlier for a second bookable offence.
Simone Inzaghi's side are just about hanging on to second place in Serie A, having bounced back from a 1-0 defeat to Bologna on February 26 with a 2-0 victory over Lecce most recently to remain two points ahead of Lazio.
Image copyright: Getty Images
The Dragons are in a similar position to Inter domestically as they trail Primeira Liga leaders Benfica by eight points in second spot and find themselves just two clear of Sporting Braga following a 2-1 loss to Gil Vicente and a 3-1 success over Chaves.
Romelu Lukaku has struggled to rediscover the form that tempted Chelsea to bring him back from Inter in 2021. The Belgian striker has managed just four goals in all competitions this season, although he's scored twice in his last three European outings.
Mehdi Taremi is having another outstanding season for Sergio Conceicao's team, scoring 12 goals in the Portuguese top flight and another five in Europe to help them progress to the knockout stages. The Iranian striker will be hoping to make a bigger impact in the second leg after being kept quiet in Milan.
Image copyright: Getty Images
In team news, Milan Skriniar and Joaquin Correa (thigh) are rated doubtful for the hosts, while Evanilson (thigh) and Francisco Meixedo (ligaments) are ruled out for the visitors.
Inzaghi was happy to come away with victory in the first leg, although he lamented the missed chances that could yet come back to bite them in Portugal.
"We played an excellent game against a physical and technical opponent, an excellent team. We won the first round knowing that another challenge awaits us at their home.
"There is some regret for the chances we had and we didn't materialise in the first half, in the second we got a restart in which Skriniar and [Andre] Onana were very good, then the substitutions helped us, we scored a goal.
"We wanted do a little more but we are happy with the victory and that we had a great game."
Conceicao wants to see more from his players in attack at the Estadio do Dragao after feeling they weren't aggressive enough in front of goal in the away leg.
"When players are deeply involved in the match, you don't think about who you're facing, but about doing things right," he said.
"We have to work harder to get the ball in the goal, because even in domestic competitions this has happened a few times. There are matches where we score two or three goals, but could score more."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Champions League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Porto - 1
Inter - 3
Draws - 1
UEFA Champions League fixtures:
Tuesday, March 14
22h00: Manchester City v RB Leipzig
22h00: Porto v Inter Milan
Wednesday, March 15
22h00: Real Madrid v Liverpool
22h00: Napoli v Eintracht Frankfurt
Top the leaderboard and stand to win big
Beat the Odds this season and you could win the ₦500,000 grand prize.
Sign up at Betway and enjoy solid action & heart-racing thrills when you bet on soccer
For all the latest sports news, betting tips and promotions follow Betway on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Download the Betway App.