Simone Inzaghi hails 'historic' Inter Milan after reaching Champions League semi-finals

Italian side defeat Benfica 5-3 on aggregate after an entertaining 3-3 draw second leg at the San Siro

Inter Milan players celebrate in front of their fans after beating Benfica 5-3 on aggregate to reach the Champions League semi-finals. AP

Simone Inzaghi hailed his "historic" Inter Milan players after coming through an entertaining Champions League quarter-final second leg against Benfica to set up a blockbuster clash with city rivals AC Milan.

Leading 2-0 from the first leg in Lisbon, Inter were well on course for the semi-finals when Nicolo Barella gave the hosts a 14th-minute lead at the San Siro. Fredrik Aursnes pulled one back for Benfica to revive their slim hopes, but second-half goals from Lautaro Martinez and Joaquin Corera killed off the tie.

Benfica scored twice late, Antonio Silva and Petar Musa finding the net in the final few minutes, to conclude a thrilling encounter even if the result of the tie had long been settled as Inter reached the Champions League semis for the first time since they won the trophy 13 years ago.

Inter's continued success in Europe comes amid a poor run of league form as four defeats and a draw in their past five games has seen the Nerazzurri slip to fifth in the Serie A table.

"My boys? They were historic," Inter manager Inzaghi told Inter TV when asked about his players' performance. "It's historic, because of what they are doing, reaching both the Champions League and Coppa Italia semi-finals.

"We know that some points were left on the road in the Italian league, but it's most because of a crazy schedule.

"When we were drawn in a group with Bayern and Barcelona back in August, we were very, very far away."

Inter won Europe's top club competition for the third time in 2010 and were the last Italian side to triumph, with Juventus losing the 2015 and 2017 finals.

The Milan teams have met twice in the Champions League knockout stages, the 2002/03 semis and 2004/05 quarter-finals with AC Milan, seven-time European champions, winning both ties.

"We deserved to reach this semi-final. It was a dream but now we're here and we'll play it big," said Inzaghi.

"I'm happy for the lads and their journey. We started from a very difficult group with Bayern and Barca but we were good, united together with the fans, who helped us a lot.

"We work every day to live these days that have been missing here at Inter for many years. We know what this derby represents for everyone here. We are happy and we will play it in the best way."

Inter and AC Milan will clash at the San Siro in the first leg on May 10 and on May 16 in the second leg. The winners will face Real Madrid or Manchester City, who meet in the semi-finals for the second consecutive season.