Romelu Lukaku is relishing a stern Champions League test when Inter head to Porto for the second leg of their last-16 tie.
Inter will take a 1-0 lead to Estadio do Dragao on March 14 after Lukaku slammed in a late winner at San Siro on Wednesday.
Having seen a header rebound off the left-hand post, substitute Lukaku reacted sharply to drill home from close range.
Lukaku's winner, which came shortly after Otavio had seen red for the visitors, marked only his fourth goal of what has been a difficult campaign for the 29-year-old, though he has now netted in each of his last two appearances.
While he lamented Inter's failure to add a second goal, Lukaku's confidence will not be shaken by heading to a difficult venue where Porto have lost just twice this season, winning their last eight home games.
"Here at San Siro we played with a great mentality, taking advantage of the chances created, but in Porto it will be difficult," Lukaku told Inter TV.
"They have great fans, a very [atmospheric] stadium, but we live for situations like this.
"We choose this life when we decide to become players. We will be prepared.
"There is satisfaction with the team's victory, a very important success. We deserved it. We played a good game and created many chances.
"Porto are very strong, now we have to archive the result and continue to do well in the league. It's just a shame we didn't score the second goal."
Inter did create plenty of opportunities, having 18 shots, though only four of those hit the target, while their 1.58 expected goals (xG) was narrowly less than Porto's 1.65.
Porto also had four attempts on target, but Inter had Andre Onana to thank for a series of fine stops – the former Ajax goalkeeper making an excellent double save from Zaidu Sanusi and Mehdi Taremi in the second half.
According to Opta, Taremi's attempt was the best chance of the game for either side, with an xG of 0.67. Essentially, close to 70 per cent of such opportunities would be expected to result in a goal.
"I'm talking about the two saves by Onana, who played an amazing game," Lukaku said when asked about the key moments of the game.
"But they all did well, even the bench players and substitutes. We're the same team as two years ago, nothing has changed.
"We must be enthusiastic about the result, with Porto it is never easy."
Red Bulls win New York derby as Seattle knock out Los Angeles FC
Goals from Felipe Carballo and Dante Vanzeir settled the New York derby as New York Red Bulls defeated New York City 2-0 at the Citi Field to enter the Eastern Conference final of the MLS Cup.
Uruguayan Carballo blasted an effort into the top corner in the 16th minute to give the visitors the breakthrough in the 16th minute before Vanzeir drilled an Emil Forsberg corner in off the post nine minutes later.
City probed for a way back into the game as they enjoyed about 70% of possession and attempted 25 shots. But failing to produce a goal despite an xG of 2.8, the 2021 champions crashed out.
Meanwhile, it was a clinical and well-organised display from the Red Bulls, who generated an xG of 0.88 with nine shots and were happy to sit back and protect their two-goal advantage for the majority of the game.
"It's a big win today, but in the end, it’s the next step. We have to continue this hard work and next week take the next step,” said Red Bulls boss Sandro Schwarz after the game.
Michel delighted with Girona's return to form after injury boosts
Michel puts Girona's rediscovered form down to the energy of the returning players from injury after they thrashed Espanyol in LaLiga on Saturday.
Girona had endured a shaky start to the season but moved up to fifth in the standings on 21 points after a superb home victory featuring a Bojan Miovski brace and goals by Bryan Gil and Ladislav Krejci.
Michel's side have now won their last three LaLiga matches, going on their best such run since between April and May 2024, the last time they recorded three victories on the bounce.
"Today's victory, which is our third [in a row], it's due to the fact we got people back, because we've rested, because we've had a very good week of training and because that energy today was noticeable," Michel told a press conference.
"The only thing I hope is that we continue to recover people, that we continue to have the necessary minutes for everyone and that, as we have very tough games coming up every three days, we need everyone to be at 100%; we'll see if we can achieve this without any problems."
Yaser Asprilla and Krejci, back from injury, combined for the fourth goal, but it was the pairing of Miovski and Gil who made the night with lethal attacks for the second and third goals.
"I am very happy for Miovski, he is a player who gives everything in training," Michel added. "I was worried because he wasn't scoring goals.
"He always tries to do his best for the team, he needs time. I am happy for him.
"Bryan is a very important player for everyone, his best version is yet to come. Right now, the process with him is what we all expect."
Last season's surprise package Girona face Austrian side Sturm Graz in the Champions League on Wednesday and the manager hopes they can repeat Saturday's performance in the European game.
"This is the Girona I want, 100%. We started the game very well, that's the reality," Michel added.
"The first half hour was spectacular, with and without the ball... We had a presence up front. The first half hour is what we want to do this season."
Correa 'showed what he can do' against Verona, says Inzaghi
Simone Inzaghi says Joaquin Correa "showed what he can do" as he inspired Inter to a 5-0 win at Verona on Saturday.
The Argentine made his first start of the season, scoring a goal, registering two assists and striking the woodwork twice, as he stepped in for the absent Lautaro Martinez and helped Inter move top of the table.
Each of Correa's three away goals for Inter in Serie A have come at the Bentegodi against Verona, while he both scored and assisted in a single Serie A match for only the second time, after July 2020, for Lazio against Brescia.
"Correa deserved this chance for how he's been working since June, he showed what he can do," Inzaghi told a press conference.
"I'm happy for him. In addition to being a great player, he's a good guy who continued with his work despite some mistrust."
Inter scored at least five goals in the first half of an away league game for only the second time in their history in Serie A, after their 5-1 win against Sampdoria in the first 45 minutes of play back in March 1964.
Last season, Correa was sent on a one-year loan to Marseille and was expected to leave Inter for good as the French club had an option to buy the player.
Upon his return, the 30-year-old made three appearances in the first 12 league games, entering from the bench at Monza, Udinese and Roma before he was selected to pair up with Marcus Thuram from the start against Verona.
Correa opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a chipped finish after a precise pass from Thuram. He then returned the favour and teed the Frenchman up to double the lead in the 22nd, before setting up Yann Bisseck for the fifth before the break.
"It wasn't difficult because my team-mates helped me and were happy when I scored," Correa said.
"I wanted to do the back heel for Bisseck, but there was also a bit of luck. There are a lot of good guys here, we have to continue like this."
Inter next host RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday, and they may still be without Martinez, who fell sick when he returned from international duty.
"We need to see how the virus evolves," Inzaghi said. "Last night he had chills and this morning he had a fever of almost 38 degrees.
"I had [the same virus] too, skipping training on Monday and Tuesday. In any case, he would have been [resting] on the bench today even if he had been here. We'll see."
Martinez scored in both of Argentina's World Cup qualifiers against Paraguay (2-1) and Peru (1-0).
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