Internazionale 5-0 Shakhtar Donetsk: Europa League semi-final – as it happened

Last modified: 08: 56 PM GMT+0

Inter will meet Sevilla in Friday’s final after demolishing the champions of Ukraine in Düsseldorf

Antonio Conte celebrates by waving both fists in delight. Luis Castro ruefully slips on his jacket with the haunted air of a man who’s just been told to clear his desk. He offers Conte his warmest congratulations, though, and both sets of players shake hands and swap shirts. Every Inter face wears the broadest smile. They really wanted this and got their reward; Lautaro Martinez in particular was dynamite up front. Shakhtar by contrast were strangely passive and the best team unquestionably won. Even so, they’ll always wonder what would have happened if Junior Moraes scored that close-range, closing-doors header. Inter meanwhile contemplate their first European final since they won the 2010 Champions League. One of the giants of football is stirring. Congratulations to Inter, commiserations to Shakhtar, and thanks for reading this report. Nighty night!

Updated

FULL TIME: Internazionale 5-0 Shakhtar Donetsk

The referee shows the Ukrainian champions some mercy, though, blowing the full-time whistle on 89 minutes and 58 seconds. It took a while for Inter to really get going, but when they did, they were a class above. Shakhtar didn’t really turn up. Inter will face Sevilla in the final on Friday evening, looking for their fourth victory in the Uefa Cup / Europa League, and their first silverware for nine seasons.

90 min: Inter are in no mood to provide it. Eriksen takes. Gagliardini plants a powerful header goalwards. But it’s parried by Pyatov and the whistle goes for pushing anyway.

89 min: Moses and Esposito combine well down the right to win a corner. Shakhtar plead mercy.

87 min: Esposito’s first contribution should lead to the celebration of a goal, sent clear down the right. He over-elaborates and drags his shot wide right, with only Pyatov to beat. The flag goes up for offside, though I’m not 100 percent sure he was, but this way the young man’s blushes have been spared, so maybe it’s for the best.

85 min: An extremely content Lukaku makes way for Esposito. Manchester United may reflect that every cloud has a silver lining, and at least they don’t have to face their former striker in this form.

GOAL! Inter 5-0 Shakhtar (Lukaku 83)

This is now officially a rout. Lukaku bet himself in a footrace with Khocholava in the first half, but didn’t get away. He does this time, turning on the jets to blaze down the inside-right channel, striding into the box and slotting away with the confidence of a man who’s now scored 33 times this season.

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82 min: That close-range chance for Moraes seems such a long time ago now. Shakhtar should have equalised, but Inter have punished them emphatically since. The small margins, huh.

80 min: A double change for Inter. Christen Eriksen and Victor Moses come on for the goalscoring heroes D’Ambrosio and Martinez. What a game Martinez has had! A good idea to keep him safe ahead of the final.

GOAL! Inter 4-0 Shakhtar (Lukaku 78)

This is far too easy for Inter now. Matviyenko’s dreadful square pass in from the right is picked up by Martinez, who cleverly dinks down the inside-right channel to release Lukaku. The striker makes it ten Europa League matches in a row in which he’s scored by opening up his body and curling positively into the bottom left.

Updated

77 min: Dodo slips over in the silent-movie style. Bastoni, adding injury to insult, accidentally steps on his had. Ooyah, oof. All still friends, though.

75 min: Konoplyanka comes on, too late, for Marlos. He gives his departing team-mate a sad wink, knowing full well the jig is up.

GOAL! Inter 3-0 Shakhtar (Martinez 74)

No matter! His strike partner has made it three, and Inter are surely in the final now. Stepanenko miscontrols in the middle of the park. Suddenly he’s swarmed by Inter, and Martinez is sent flying down the middle. He takes a touch and drops a shoulder before curling deliciously into the bottom right!

Updated

72 min: Lukaku should have put this beyond any doubt. Martinez is sent scampering in from the right. He slips the ball to Lukaku, who is able to take a stride down the middle and set himself for a shot. His low skelp is straight at Pyatov. He puts his head in his hands, as does his manager Conte on the touchline. You’d expect Lukaku to bury that.

70 min: Free kick for Shakhtar on the right. Marlos swings it long. But there are only three attackers in the Inter box, and the Italians calmly usher the ball out for a goal kick.

68 min: Gagliardini romps in the progressive manner down the middle. He’s about to feed Biraghi to his left, with Shakhtar light at the back, but overruns it and concedes a free kick while sliding in to keep the move going. Not this time, but Inter are the complete bosses of Shakhtar all of a sudden.

66 min: Inter consolidate their position with their first change of the night. Biraghi replaces Young.

GOAL! Inter 2-0 Shakhtar (D'Ambrosio 64)

What a sucker punch for Shakhtar! Inter win a corner out on the right. Brozovic swings it deep. D’Ambrosio rises with real desire and plants a header across Pyatov and into the top right! Easy as that, the goal coming one minute and 55 seconds after Moraes’s glaring miss!

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62 min: What a chance for Shakhtar! Matviyenjo whips in from the left. Moraes, six yards out, must score. But his downwards header is straight at Handanovic, who can stick out an arm to block. Brilliant save at point-blank range, albeit one he should never have been allowed to make. Compare and contrast to Martinez’s clever finish for the goal.

61 min: Young wedges a pass down the left for Martinez, who tries a balletic spin around Kryvtsov. But the Shakhtar defender stays big.

59 min: And now it’s the first change of the evening, as Manor Solomon comes on for Alan Patrick.

57 min: Bastoni launches another attack but is unceremoniously bowled over by Taison, who receives the first yellow card of the evening.

55 min: Inter look pretty comfortable at the moment. Bastoni strides out from the back with confidence and sprays a glorious pass wide right for D’Ambrosio, who flicks inside for Barella. A busy run towards the Shakhtar box ultimately doesn’t lead to anything, but that was a fine move.

53 min: Moraes waves an arm in Godin’s face. There’s not a great deal in it, a clumsy clash and foul, nothing more. Godin wants more, though. The ref’s not interested in flashing any card. We play on.

Updated

51 min: Marcos Antonio has another dig from distance. This one’s not so close. Inter go up the other end, Lukaku using Khocholava as a shield before bending one towards the bottom right. It’s always going wide, and the keeper had it covered in any case.

49 min: Pyatov makes up for his earlier mistake with a magnificent save. Martinez beats Khocholava to a bouncing ball, 30 yards out, and attempts an immediate loop over the keeper, who had been on walkabout. Pyatov gets back and claws the ball wide right, saving a certain second for Inter. The resulting corner comes to nothing.

47 min: Bastoni clears in the unpretentious style. His blooter smacks his team-mate Gagliardini on the forearm. Shakhtar wants a farcical penalty, but Gagliardini wasn’t looking and was trying to make himself smaller. They’re not getting one.

46 min: Barella snaffles possession in the centre circle, and a better ball forward would have released Lukaku down the inside-right channel. Too much juice on the pass, and it sails through to Pyatov.

Shakhtar get the second half underway. According to BT Sport, they had 67 percent of possession in that first period, but didn’t muster a single shot on target. Presumably their manager Luis Castro has informed them of this and that, and the tempo will be raised accordingly. But we’ll see.

Half-time entertainment. One of the great Serie A matches from days gone by. Apologies to any Inter fans for stirring demons, though I’m working on the premise that enough time has passed by now.

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HALF TIME: Inter 1-0 Shakhtar

Shakhtar have dominated possession, but done next to nothing with it. Inter have achieved very little ... bar the creation of a fine goal that was the result of a poor clearance. Both sides will feel they can do better; one will be happy enough despite it all, though. Inter are 45 minutes away from a final showdown with Sevilla and the chance of a first trophy in nine years.

45 min: So suddenly we can say that Shakhtar have finished the half strongly. They’ll be irritated to hear the whistle, which is coming in 60 seconds’ time.

43 min: More of the Shakhtar pinging. But this time there’s an end product, as their constant probing opens up a little pocket of space 25 yards out, allowing Marcos Antonio to cream a fine shot just over the bar. A few inches lower, and that was nestling into the top left, Handanovic wasn’t getting to it.

41 min: Shakhtar continue to ping it around without much in the way of forward thrust. With Charles Antaki’s email of 33 mins in mind, I hope they haven’t wasted their joker on this half.

39 min: This is all a bit underwhelming. We’ve been spoilt over the last few days, there’s no denying it.

37 min: Barella, who has been the most influential player on the park so far, tries to send Lukaku clear down the right with a scooped pass. Pyatov reads the danger well, coming out of his box to hack clear ... though he nearly sends the ball straight back to Barella, who might have fancied a dig at an unguarded goal from distance. He’s really pushing his luck now.

36 min: Marcos Antonio crosses from the right. Moraes rises to meet it, but he’s under severe pressure from D’Ambrosio and can only skim it out harmlessly to the left of goal.

35 min: Barella burst down the right and decides to have a dig from the edge of the box. His diagonal riser is heading towards the top right. Pyatov nearly helps it in there with a weak-wristed flap that just about qualifies as a save. Over the bar it goes, just. Nothing comes of the resulting corner. Pyatov is not covering himself with glory here.

33 min: “There was a game in the ancient days of It’s A Knockout where the competitor ran towards a target while held by an elastic rope, on ground covered with slippery foam. As they approached their goal, they were ineluctably pulled back to where they came from, having achieved nothing. Perhaps the programme still airs in the Ukraine.” Sports satirist / TV historian Charles Antaki, ladies and gentlemen. He’s here all week.

31 min: Lukaku backs himself in a footrace down the right, but Khocholava stays in it and hooks clear, just when it looked like the striker - on a hot streak in this tournament of nine scoring matches in a row since his Everton days - threatened to break clear.

29 min: Marlos tries to up the tempo for Shakhtar down the right. That run doesn’t pay dividend, but it seems to wake his side up, because Dodo makes his presence felt down the same flank and pulls back for Moraes, who tries to screw a shot into the bottom right. It’s deflected out for a corner, which leads to nothing, but that’s so much better from the Ukrainian champs, who have been a tad passive so far.

27 min: Young slips a ball down the left for Bastoni, who curls a magnificent ball across the face of goal. Somehow, Martinez, Lukaku and D’Ambrosio all get in each other’s way, and instead of one of them knocking home from six yards, the ball squirts wide left. The flag goes up to save the Inter trio’s blushes, but what a farce nonetheless. Someone had to pop that one away.

25 min: Otherwise, Shakhtar have been stroking it around in an aesthetically pleasing but not particularly dangerous style. Inter seem happy enough to let them be about their business.

23 min: Patrick flicks infield from the left touchline again. This time he’s not clattered by Godin, and Taison is allowed to skitter with great intent down the inside left. It’s an electrifying run, but one that’s stopped by De Vrij on the edge of the box. That’ll give Shakhtar some succour after conceding that fairly early goal.

21 min: A brief pause as D’Ambrosio and Khocholava accidentally clash heads. Both get back up after a dab down with the magic sponge.

GOAL! Inter 1-0 Shakhtar (Martinez 19)

Pyatov, in the Shakhtar goal, shanks a dreadful kick straight to Barella, who sashays down the right wing, shakes his hips, and crosses for Martinez. The striker eyebrows a lovely header into the left-hand side of the goal, leaving the flat-footed Pyatov red-faced as well. Great cross and finish, though.

Updated

18 min: Barella wedges a gentle pass down the inside-right channel but Martinez can’t bring it under his spell. The ball’s cleared.

16 min: A long ball down the middle. Moraes can’t get it under control. Godin mops up. This match has yet to start sparkling ... but then Leipzig-Atletico took a while last week, and that was worth sticking with. Plenty of time yet.

14 min: Lukaku has his first run at the Shakhtar defence. He drives down the right, forcing Matviyenko to backtrack, and he’s got Martinez in the middle. But he opts for a strange cutback that is totally aimless, nowhere near a team-mate. Shakhtar clear.

12 min: It took a while for Shakhtar to find their feet - Inter saw most of the ball in the early exchanges - but now the Ukrainian champions are keeping hold of it for the most part. All still in the very sterile style.

10 min: The careful probing continues. I guess we shouldn’t expect every game to begin like Bayern-Barca did on Friday. Or indeed end like it.

8 min: Both sides just putting out a few feelers right now. Patrick, Taison and Marlos paint pretty pictures down the right but can’t quite carve their way through the Inter back line and the final pass flies out for a goal kick.

6 min: D’Ambrosio robs a dithering Matviyenko down near the right-hand corner flag and dribbles towards the box, before drawing a clip from the full back and going down for the cheap foul. The free kick, just to the right of the box, is whistled straight over a crowded box by Brozovic.

4 min: It’s all a bit scrappy at the minute. Patrick tries a cute flick out on the left touchline and is told what’s what by Godin. A statement challenge, and a free kick. The referee narrows his eyes a little, but that’s the end of it.

2 min: That false start morphs into a slow one.

Inter get the ball rolling! And it goes flat within ten seconds or so. De Vrij stops and blooters it out of play. Shakhtar pick up another and consider launching an attack from the throw, but Antonio Conte gets involved, explaining to the ref and fourth official why his player has just launched it out. Common sense prevails and Shakhtar fling the ball back to Inter.

Here come the teams! Inter wear their storied blue and black stripes, while Shakhtar sport second-choice grey. Not sure why they can’t wear their orange and black, but there it is. The Europa League anthem parps apologetically out of the tinny PA. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes.

Breaking (but not exactly surprising) news: Quique Setien has been sacked by Barcelona. “The board of directors have agreed that Quique Setien is no longer the first-team coach,” a club statement read. “This is the first decision within a wider restructuring of the first team which will be agreed between the current technical secretary and the new coach, who will be announced in the coming days.”

The 61-year-old Setien only replaced Ernesto Valverde in January, and had signed a contract to stay at Camp Nou until summer 2022. But he failed to halt Real Madrid’s procession to the La Liga title, while his team were knocked out in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey by Atletico Bilbao. Friday night’s mind-bending 8-2 defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich was always going to be the last straw.

Pre-match reading. Contains bad news for Shakhtar, if the prediction of yesterday’s match is anything to go by.

Inter coach Antonio Conte names the same XI sent out to beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 in the quarters. His opposite number Luis Castro makes one change to the side named for the 4-1 win over Basel in the last round; Davit Khocholava returns from suspension to take Valeriy Bondar’s spot in the centre of defence.

The teams

Internazionale: Handanovic, Godin, de Vrij, Bastoni, D’Ambrosio, Barella, Brozovic, Gagliardini, Young, Lukaku, Martinez.
Subs: Sanchez, Moses, Sensi, Ranocchia, Valero, Eriksen, Padelli, Esposito, Pirola, Biraghi, Skriniar, Candreva.

Shakhtar Donetsk: Pyatov, Dodo, Kryvtsov, Khocholava, Matviyenko, Marcos Antonio, Stepanenko, Marlos, Alan Patrick, Taison, Moraes.
Subs: Dentinho, Tete, Konoplyanka, Solomon, Kovalenko, Maycon, Marquinhos Cipriano, Bolbat, Pikhalonok, Bondar, Trubin, Fernando.

Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland).

Preamble

Welcome to our coverage of the second Europa League semi-final, to be held this evening at the Düsseldorf Arena. Both of these teams were cashiered into the competition from the Champions League group stage, Internazionale failing to get past Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund, Shakhtar Donetsk losing out to Manchester City and Atalanta. Well, well, look who’s left standing.

Neither team will turn their nose up at the chance to compete for Europe’s secondary club prize. Inter haven’t won anything since 2011, while reigning Ukrainian champions Shakhtar’s sole European triumph was in this competition back in 2009. Everyone’s going into this match high on confidence, Inter having lost just one of their last 16 in all competitions, Shakhtar one of their last 15, both clubs have already qualified for next season’s Champions League via their domestic campaigns.

Here’s to yet another dramatic night, then. It’s a one-off. It could go to extra time. It could even go to penalty kicks. It’s on!

Kick off: 9pm local time, 8pm in the UK.

Contributor

Scott Murray

The GuardianTramp

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