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Romelu Lukaku is relishing a stern Champions League test when Inter head to Porto for the second leg of their last-16 tie.
Inter will take a 1-0 lead to Estadio do Dragao on March 14 after Lukaku slammed in a late winner at San Siro on Wednesday.
Having seen a header rebound off the left-hand post, substitute Lukaku reacted sharply to drill home from close range.
Lukaku’s winner, which came shortly after Otavio had seen red for the visitors, marked only his fourth goal of what has been a difficult campaign for the 29-year-old, though he has now netted in each of his last two appearances.
While he lamented Inter’s failure to add a second goal, Lukaku’s confidence will not be shaken by heading to a difficult venue where Porto have lost just twice this season, winning their last eight home games.
“Here at San Siro we played with a great mentality, taking advantage of the chances created, but in Porto it will be difficult,” Lukaku told Inter TV.
“They have great fans, a very [atmospheric] stadium, but we live for situations like this.
“We choose this life when we decide to become players. We will be prepared.
“There is satisfaction with the team’s victory, a very important success. We deserved it. We played a good game and created many chances.
“Porto are very strong, now we have to archive the result and continue to do well in the league. It’s just a shame we didn’t score the second goal.”
Inter did create plenty of opportunities, having 18 shots, though only four of those hit the target, while their 1.58 expected goals (xG) was narrowly less than Porto’s 1.65.
Porto also had four attempts on target, but Inter had Andre Onana to thank for a series of fine stops – the former Ajax goalkeeper making an excellent double save from Zaidu Sanusi and Mehdi Taremi in the second half.
According to Opta, Taremi’s attempt was the best chance of the game for either side, with an xG of 0.67. Essentially, close to 70 per cent of such opportunities would be expected to result in a goal.
“I’m talking about the two saves by Onana, who played an amazing game,” Lukaku said when asked about the key moments of the game.
“But they all did well, even the bench players and substitutes. We’re the same team as two years ago, nothing has changed.
“We must be enthusiastic about the result, with Porto it is never easy.”
