The two Milanese sides had very different fortunes in Serie A at dawn on Sunday, with AC Milan suffering a 0-2 defeat at the hands of Sporting, while Inter Milan continued their seven-match winning streak with a 4-2 home win over Sassuolo, thanks to Lukaku's second goal of the season, and a total of 21 goals in all competitions. The two teams will meet again in the UEFA Europa League quarterfinals in the early hours of Wednesday morning (17th), with Inter Milan looking to advance to the final with a two-goal lead and a significantly better form than their opponents.
In the last round of the first leg of the UEFA Europa League quarterfinals, AC Milan lost to Inter Milan with 0-2. In this league match, AC Milan put away a number of their main players with the intention of building up their strength for the second leg. However, in the middle and late second half, their defense was broken by Spetsnaz defender Wesniski and midfielder Salvatore Esposito, and with this loss, AC Milan is now 4 points behind fourth-place Lazio, and is likely to miss out on the next UEFA Europa League.
Meanwhile, Inter Milan went from strength to strength. Lukaku's goal opened the scoring, followed by an own goal from Sassuolo defender Ruan Chasi Sudi and a goal from Nadalu Martinez to extend the lead to three goals. Although Sassuolo pushed the lead back to 2-3 with goals from Maffioshanlicki and David Faddis, Lukaku scored again late in the game to secure the 4-2 win. The Belgian international's form has been superb with three goals in his last two league games as Inter Milan moved five points clear of fifth-placed AC Milan, adding to their confidence for the upcoming UEFA Europa League campaign.
