Champions League

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Champions League | Group Stage

Oct 26, 2022 at 5.45pm UK

San Siro

Inter Milan
4 - 0
Plzen

Mkhitaryan (35'), Dzeko (42', 66'), Lukaku (87')

FT(HT: 2-0)

Mosquera (45+1'), Pernica (49')

Inter Milan qualify for Champions League round of 16, consigning Barcelona to Europa League

By Matt Law, Football Editor | 26 October 2022

Inter Milan book their spot in the knockout round of the Champions League with a 4-0 victory over Viktoria Plzen, and the result consigns Barcelona to the Europa League.

Inter Milan have booked their spot in the knockout round of the Champions League courtesy of a 4-0 victory over Viktoria Plzen at San Siro.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Edin Dzeko (two) and Romelu Lukaku scored the goals for Simone Inzaghi's side, who proved to be too strong for their Czech opponents over the course of the 90 minutes.

The Italian outfit have joined Bayern Munich in the next round of the competition from Group C, and the result means that Barcelona have finished third in the section.

Barcelona needed Plzen to avoid defeat at San Siro to stand a chance of making the round of 16 heading into their clash with Bayern at Camp Nou.

However, Xavi's side have now failed to qualify for the knockout stage of the Champions League for the second season in a row, with the club guaranteed to finish third ahead of their final two fixtures, which will have a huge financial impact.

Inter, as it stands, can still finish top of Group C, but Bayern would be confirmed as section winners if they manage to beat Barcelona at Camp Nou on Wednesday night.

The Italian outfit also reached the round of 16 last term but were beaten by Liverpool, and they have not made it through the first knockout round since progressing to the quarter-finals in 2010-11.

Inter had two brilliant chances to score in the 25th minute, but Mkhitaryan saw his header saved by Plzen goalkeeper Jindrich Stanek, before Federico Dimarco fired wide from the rebound.

The Italian side did take the lead in the 35th minute, though, with Alessandro Bastoni's brilliant cross being headed into the back of the net by Mkhitaryan, who put in a strong performance.

Inter then scored a second seven minutes later, with experienced forward Dzeko tapping a cross from Dimarco into the back of the net to all but take the match away from Plzen.

Mkhitaryan hit the post before Lautaro Martinez brought an excellent save from Stanek just before the hour, but the third came in the 66th minute, with Dzeko finding the bottom corner after smart work from Lautaro Martinez.

On-loan Chelsea striker Lukaku then scored on his return from injury late on, finding the back of the net with a drilled finish, with Inter recording a 4-0 victory on the night to advance to the knockout round of the competition in style, consigning Barcelona to the Europa League in the process.