Lukaku makes perfect Europa League 10 as Inter crush Shakhtar | Soccer

Internazionale advanced to the Europa League final with a landslide victory over Shakhtar Donetsk.

Antonio Conte’s side led by just one interval after Lautaro Martínez led them ahead but blitzed their opponents with four more goals in the second half. Danilo D’Ambrosio increased the lead and Martínez was on target again before Romelu Lukaku’s late brace extended the former Manchester United and Everton striker’s streak in the Europa League: he now has scored in their last 10 matches of the competition.

Inter are back in the final of a European competition for the first time since their memorable 2009-10 hat-trick under José Mourinho and Friday’s centerpiece against Sevilla will be the 10th European final in their history. The Shakhtar, who were looking to reach second place after winning the UEFA Cup in 2009, will return home with regret after failing to show urgency overnight.

Martínez managed the cross from Nicolò Barella after a mistake by goalkeeper Andrei Pyatov in what was the game’s first try. The Shakhtar took advantage of the majority of the possession, especially in the first half, but seemed perplexed as to how to handle Conte’s organized and disciplined defensive unit. The Ukrainian side finally offered something at the end of the first half when Marcos Antonio’s long-range effort just flew over the crossbar.

Another mistake early in the second half almost gave Inter a second goal. Davit Khocholava messed up the ball and Martínez pulled it wide enough before spotting Pyatov out of his line and attempting a lob, but the veteran Shakhtar goalkeeper jumped high to tip the ball.

Shakhtar had a golden opportunity to equalize just past the hour. It looked like a carbon copy of the goal Inter scored in the first half. Mykola Matviyenko threw a cross and Júnior Moraes responded with a header but his effort was direct on Samir Handanovic. On either side of him and that would have been a goal.

This turned out to be crucial as Inter descended straight into the opposite end and increased their lead as D’Ambrosio headed from a corner of Marcelo Brozovic. Martínez shot in his second goal of the game after 74 minutes with a low shot from 20 yards before Lukaku was on the scoresheet four minutes later, calmly beating Pyatov in a head-to-head with the goalkeeper. The Belgian scored again with seven minutes left, showing a good change of pace to overtake his marker before pushing back Pyatov once again.

“It’s an incredible night, the kind we dreamed of. It has been a long time since I played such a game and we have shown that Inter are ready for the big games, ”Martínez told Sky Sport Italia. “I am very happy for the team, which is playing well and growing game after game.”