Martinez deals knockout blow as Inter reach Champions League final

MILAN :A second-half goal by forward Lautaro Martinez earned Inter Milan a 1-0 victory over rivals AC Milan in their Champions League semi-final second leg on Tuesday, sealing a 3-0 aggregate win to book their ticket to the showpiece in Istanbul.

Milan recovered some of the spark they lacked in the first leg but Inter's Martinez put the tie to bed when he struck powerfully from close range in the 74th minute at the San Siro.

Inter went into the game holding a 2-0 advantage after Edin Dzeko and Henrikh Mkhitaryan had struck early in a flying start to the first leg and never looked in serious danger of missing out on the final, where they will face Real Madrid or Manchester City on June 10.

Inter, who overcame Portuguese pair Porto and Benfica to reach the semis, will play in the final for the sixth time and first since lifting their third European Cup in 2009-10 under Jose Mourinho.

"There was a lot of history in this game. I felt it, we did a great job in both games," said Martinez, who won the World Cup with Argentina in December.

"The unity of the group (motivated us). I experienced it at the World Cup, that's important. If you have a united group, things are easier. We have shown that Inter deserve this moment.

"Playing in the Champions League final is a dream. We started this season with goals and today we achieved a very important one."

Inter coach Simone Inzaghi fielded an unchanged team from the first leg, with Martinez and Dzeko up front, having rested players in Serie A over the weekend.

Main forward Rafael Leao returned for Milan after an adductor problem sidelined him in the first leg, with Junior Messias and Malick Thiaw starting in place of Alexis Saelemaekers and Simon Kjaer.

A much more daring Milan side could have