The Nerazzurri reached their first quarterfinal in the league since 2011 as Inter Milan upset ten-man FC Porto to frustrate them and knock them out of the UEFA Champions League.
The early goal for Porto was to rapidly attempt to tie the score after falling down 1-0 in the first leg in Milan. Drages almost accomplished this when Mateus Uribe blasted a spectacular 30-yard effort into the top corner that André Onana narrowly touched aside. The Nerazzurri changed their strategy after Inter's last match, a 2-1 loss at Spezia, and limited Porto to long-range shots. Onana had no trouble stopping Stephen Eustaquio's long-range effort.
Set up to counter, Inter immediately displayed their offensive danger when Edin Deko found space in the area and forced Diogo Costa, who was playing his 100th game for Porto, into a good save. The goal was to break Inter's poor record of one victory in their past eight meetings in Portugal. Porto needed to score at least one goal to remain in the Champions League, and they sorely wanted that form to return.
But, Inter continued to torment the hosts and almost won the match when Nicol Barella curled a shot just inches wide from the outside of the box. Despite a late rush of Porto raids before the game was determined when Pepê was sent off for a second bookable offense, Inter inevitably stayed tight, held the home side at bay, and expertly finished off the tie.
Porto would have liked their chances of getting back into this match after winning their past two home games in the Champions League group stages, but the Dragons lacked the innovativeness required to make a breakthrough. Inter should be commended for their much better defensive performance as Filippo Inzaghi's team shown great tenacity to escape suffering their third straight away loss and advance to the Champions League's round of eight.
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