For AC Milan, this much-anticipated showdown with Inter Milan represented their last chance of salvaging something from this disappointing season.  

The Italian powerhouse have already lost the Serie A title race and possibly the hope of finishing in the top four, and now they suffered even more San Siro heartbreak at the hands of their biggest rivals. 

As Lautaro Martinez's goal secured a well-deserved 1-0 win over AC Milan and a 3-0 aggregate victory, Inter Milan stormed into the Champions League final for the first time since they won the competition in 2010.

"There was a lot of history in this game. I felt it, we did a great job in both games," beamed Martinez, who is just a match away from winning the World Cup and Champions League in less than six months. 

"The unity of the group motivated us. I experienced it at the World Cup, that's important. If you have a united group, things are easier. We have shown that Inter deserve this moment... Playing in the Champions League final is a dream. We started this season with goals and today we achieved a very important one." 

The euphoria was echoed by an emotional Simone Inzaghi. "It's a dream come true, a dream that we've shared and grown together since the draw, because we had to believe, nobody gave us anything," said the Inter Milan coach. "Tomorrow we'll realize what we've achieved, but this was a magic night with our fans and our families. We couldn't ask for more."

Inzaghi has admitted that Inter will go into the final against Real Madrid or Manchester City next month as underdogs, but he insisted his team should not be written off in Istanbul. 

"They are two huge clubs with immense quality," he observed. "But anything can happen in football. We met Real Madrid last year, two losses unfortunately, but my team played very well. Manchester City need no introduction. I will watch tomorrow's match, and we will see who wins." 

According to stats provider Opta, Inter have scored in nine of their 12 games. Only Real Madrid (11) have scored goals in more matches in the Champions League this season. At the other end, their eight clean sheets are more than any other side in the tournament this campaign. 

Meanwhile, it's the first time Inter have progressed from an all-Milan knockout tie in the Champions League, with Milan coming out on top both in the 2002-03 semifinals and the 2004-05 quarterfinals. It's also the first time in almost 50 years that Milan have lost to Inter four times in a single season, the only other time being in 1973-74. 

"It's clear that we dreamed of the final and wanted to beat our rivals," said Milan coach Stefano Pioli afterwards. "Inter in these two matches hurt us with counter-attacks and set pieces. These are situations we had to do better with. In these games you have to play to great levels, or you go out." 

"Not succeeding causes us disappointment, but we'll have to focus on the championship. The real disappointment would be not playing in the Champions League next year."