All of Inter’s goals in UEFA Cup/Europa League semi - finals

Inter vs. Shakhtar Donetsk kicks off at 21:00 CEST on Monday, with the game a one-legged tie to decide which team progresses to the Europa League final. This will be the 21st European semi-final in Inter’s history, also including their three games in the Mitropa Cup.

Looking at just the post-war period, Inter have played in 18 European semi-finals: two in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, seven in the former European Cup, one in the Champions League and seven in the UEFA Cup, along with this season’s Europa League semi-final against Shakhtar Donetsk. Inter are also the first club to ever reach eight semi-finals in the UEFA Cup/Europa League.

Inter have lifted the trophy on three occasions in this competition: in 1991, 1994 and 1998. But Inter have played seven UEFA Cup semi-finals, a total of 14 games which we’re looking back on with all of our goals in the video at the bottom of this article.

UEFA Cup semi-final 1984/85

10-04-1985    Inter 2-0 Real Madrid 25' pen. Brady, 57' Altobelli 24-04-1985    Real Madrid 3-0 Inter 12' Santillana, 42' Santillana, 57' Michel

Inter’s first semi-final tie in the UEFA Cup ended in heartbreak, as the Nerazzurri beat Valdano, Butragueño and Santillana’s Real Madrid in a bouncing San Siro thanks to Brady’s perfect penalty and an Altobelli goal. But Real Madrid overturned the tie at home, with Inter waving goodbye to their dreams of reaching the final.

UEFA Cup semi-final 1985/86

02-04-1986    Inter 3-1 Real Madrid 1', 54' Tardelli, 87' Valdano, 89' O.G. Salguero 16-04-1986    Real Madrid 3-1 Inter (5-1 AET) 44' pen. Sanchez, 63' Gordillo, 66' pen. Brady, 74' pen. Sanchez, 94', 107' Santillana

History repeated itself in the next edition of the competition, the result this time around perhaps even more difficult to swallow. Tardelli netted a brace in the first leg at San Siro (his first going down in history for its beauty), while Salguero netted an unbelievable own goal in the closing stages with a misplaced back-pass to his goalkeeper. The second leg at the Bernabeu ended 3-1 to Los Blancos, with Santillana once again crushing the Nerazzurri’s dreams in extra time.

UEFA Cup semi-final 1990/91

10-04-1991    Sporting Lisbon 0-0 Inter     24-04-1991    Inter 2-0 Sporting Lisbon 15' pen. Matthäus, 35' Klinsmann

The 1990/91 European campaign saw the first UEFA Cup triumph in Nerazzurri history, with Inter coming out on top in the two-legged final against Roma. But first came the semi-final against Sporting: 0-0 in Lisbon and a German-sealed success at San Siro as Matthäus slotted home from the spot and Klinsmann ensured the Nerazzurri’s place in the final. 

UEFA Cup semi-final 1993/94

30-03-1994    Cagliari 3-2 Inter        7' Fontolan D., 11' Oliveira, 61' Sosa, 82' Criniti, 87' O.G. Paganin 12-04-1994    Inter 3-0 Cagliari        38' pen. Bergkamp, 54' Berti, 64' Jonk

In the incredible 1993/94 season, which saw Inter fighting to avoid relegation but flying on the European stage, the Nerazzurri faced up against Bruno Giorgi’s Cagliari in the semi-finals. The first leg in Sardinia ended in defeat, despite Fontolan’s opener and a goal from Ruben Sosa. But the second leg saw Inter bounce back with real character, with Berti back in the line-up and back on the scoresheet after his time out injured. Bergkamp added a goal himself (finishing up as top scorer in the competition), with his compatriot Jonk also grabbing a goal to send Inter through.

UEFA Cup semi-final 1996/97

08-04-1997    Inter 3-1 Monaco        17' Ganz, 30' Ganz, 39' Zamorano, 71' Ikpeba 22-04-1997    Monaco 1-0 Inter        69' Ikpeba

An extremely difficult year as Inter lost out on penalties to Schalke in the final at San Siro. But the semi-final against Monaco was the Maurizio Ganz show: two goals which earned him the Golden Boot in the competition on eight goals, as well as an assist for Zamorano. A defeat which didn’t affect the outcome in the second leg.

UEFA Cup semi-final 1997/98

31-03-1998    Inter 2-1 Spartak Moscow 45' Zamorano, 47' Alenitchev, 89' Zé Elias 14-04-1998    Spartak Moscow 1-2 Inter 11' Tikhonov, 44' Ronaldo, 75' Ronaldo

After knocking out Schalke in the quarter-finals - a small consolation after the previous year’s final - this semi saw two legs against Russian opposition. Zamorano and Zé Elias stepped up to secure the win at San Siro, while Il Fenomeno stole all the headlines in Moscow with a performance that went down in history. On a pitch which was almost unplayable, covered in snow and frozen mud, Ronaldo took his chances brilliantly, dancing through the defence for a legendary second goal. He then gifted his shirt to Gigi Simoni. Two legs that opened the doors to Paris where the Nerazzurri triumphed over Lazio.

UEFA Cup semi-final 2001/02

04-04-2002    Inter 0-1 Feyenoord        50' O.G. Cordoba 11-04-2002    Feyenoord 2-2 Inter        17' Van Hooijdonk, 34' Tomasson, 85' Zanetti C., 91' Kallon

A bitter period for Inter in the closing stages of the 2002 season. First that narrowly-missed Scudetto, then the failure to get through to the UEFA Cup final. A home defeat to Feyenoord after a Cordoba own goal, and not enough from Cuper’s side in the second leg as late goals from Cristiano Zanetti and Kallon couldn’t quite do it. Despite throwing everything at it in stoppage time, Inter just couldn’t quite find that goal to send them through.