Lautaro Martinez stars as Inter Milan defeat AC Milan to reach Champions League final

Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez won the Man of the Match award as they defeated rivals AC Milan 1-0 (agg: 3-0) in their Champions League semi-final clash today.

The 25-year-old scored the only goal of the game to book the Nerazzurri’s place in the final for the first time since 2010.

Martinez led the press from the front for Simone Inzaghi’s side, hassling Malick Thiaw and Fikayo Tomori when they tried to play out from the back.

The Argentine international was dogged, closing down passing lanes and forcing the defenders into playing wayward balls.

He also held the ball up well. Despite his size, he can fend off much larger attackers and win fouls off them when they get too aggressive.

The former Racing Club attacker did well against Tomori. The England international tried to follow Martinez into midfield, but it only opened gaps behind for Inter to exploit.

Martinez and Edin Dzeko were not in sync today, but things improved when Romelu Lukaku came on.

Lukaku made an immediate impact, setting up Martinez who finished with aplomb past Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan.

They will face the winner of tomorrow’s game between Manchester City and Real Madrid in Turkey on June 10.

Inter have now beaten their Milan rivals four times this season without conceding a goal.

Milan now face a fight to finish in the top four and qualify for the Champions League next term.

Club director Paolo Maldini admitted after the game what most people saw across the two legs – they are not ready for this level.