Inter reach Champions League quarters after wild finish at Porto

During Inter Milan’s Champions League match against Porto, players argue with the referee.

Inter Milan advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions League for the first time in over a decade after surviving a late barrage of pressure at Porto to escape with a 0-0 draw that took them through 1-0 on aggregate on Tuesday.
The Portuguese champions tried in vain to erase the narrow deficit from the first leg in Italy, disappointing the home fans at a sold-out Dragao stadium.
A disciplined Inter team appeared content to maintain their lead and did not face a serious threat until added time.
Denzel Dumfries then blocked Ivan Marcano’s goal-line effort, and headers from Mehdi Taremi and Marko Grujic hit the post and bar, respectively, as Porto finally came alive.
After defender Pepe was sent off for a second yellow card, Inter joined city rivals AC Milan in the quarterfinal draw, marking the club’s first appearance in the last eight since 2006.
With Napoli playing their second leg at home against Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday, Italy could have three teams in the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time since 2006.
“We played an excellent game, and the group stayed together and played a fantastic match. The first half was fantastic. We all suffered together in the final stages of the game — credit to this group “Inter coach Simone Inzaghi told media outlet Mediaset.
“In football, luck plays a minor role. We deserved to advance in the two-leg match. We’re going into the quarterfinals with a lot of confidence.”
After a hard-fought win in the first leg against a Porto side that came to Italy with an ultra-defensive gameplan, Inzaghi took a cautious approach that paid off as his players maintained the lead with a steadfast performance.
They waited for their hosts to show up, but Porto never really got going until it was too late.
Porto didn’t throw everything at Inter until late in the game, when coach Sergio Conceicao brought on Toni Martinez and Danny Namaso to make it three up front, in a move that almost worked in stoppage time when they were denied by the woodwork.