Adriano’s Hat-trick Qualifies Inter

The Nerazzurri eliminated Porto in the quarter finals of the Champions League thanks to a 3-1 win at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium of Milan. After 3 months of poor performances and just one goal from the penalty spot, Adriano was back to his best as the Emperor scored all three Inter goals to help his side ease past Porto and reach the quarter finals of Europe’s top competition. In a very tactical first half, Inter took the lead after just six minutes when Adriano ran from the left hand side and as soon as he entered the penalty area he shot towards goal. The ball deflected off Pedro Emanuel and went over and past the helpless Vitor Baia for the 1-0. From then on the Nerazzurri controlled the game and closed down all spaces while Porto tried unsuccessfully to create goal scoring chances with slow and predictable moves. The Portuguese side only managed to push the home team in its own half but Toldo did not have any particular save to accomplish to help Inter end the first half with a deserved one-goal lead. In the second half Porto started playing better and consequently created more chances. This however led to wide open spaces in their defence which Inter tried to take advantage off thanks to some quick counter attacks. And after missing an incredible chance through one of these counter attacks, the Nerazzurri finally managed to find the second goal of the game in the 63rd minute when Adriano received a through ball from Cruz and the Brazilian striker placed the ball inside the net with a great left-foot shot from inside the area. The game seemed closed, but in true Inter fashion, the home fans had to suffer till the very end as Mancini’s side suffered their umpteenth goal from a set-piece of the season as Jorge Costa pulled one back for Porto following a corner kick in the 68th minute. Fear overcame the Inter players who started making simple mistakes in the middle of the pitch, but after missing another great chance following a wonderful solo effort by Javier Zanetti, Adriano scored his personal hat-trick of the night to definitely close the encounter and qualification issue three minutes from time. The Brazilian striker received an assist from Veron and dribbled an opponent inside the penalty area before shooting past Baia. Thanks to this win, Inter are the eight and final team to qualify for the quarter finals of the Champions League. The Nerazzurri reach the two other Italian sides, Milan and Juve, as Italy can boast the highest number of representatives in this final stage of the competition. The other teams already qualified are Chelsea, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, PSV Eindhoven and Lyon. The draw for the next round will be held on Friday the 18th of March at noon CET.