Inter Milan 1 Ajax 0 (Inter win 3-2 on aggregate)Dejan Stankovic's outstanding second-half goal gave Inter Milan a narrow home victory over Ajax and booked them a quarter-final date with Villarreal.
Stankovic struck just before the hour to give the Serie A club a 3-2 aggregate triumph, but the scoreline failed to do justice to a dominant second-leg display by Inter.
Adriano had missed a first-half penalty and Obafemi Martins thundered a long-range shot against the crossbar, but it was Stankovic who was the scourge of Ajax. The 27-year-old had registered the crucial first as Roberto Mancini's men came from behind to draw at the Amsterdam ArenA, and last night's strike was the finishing touch.
Inter began the second leg brightly, with Luis Figo firing just over the crossbar early on. The home support were also a factor as the Inter fans returned to the stands in droves after the team had played their three home group games behind closed doors.
Martins was at the centre of much of the nerazzurri's early pressure, as he and Adriano linked well in attack. The pair almost combined to create an opportunity on 10 minutes when the Nigerian drifted towards the left flank and lobbed in a measured cross for his strike partner. The ball would not fall for Adriano, but his acrobatic effort was sufficiently off target to drop kindly to the lurking Figo, whose adroit chip floated narrowly wide.
Ajax were struggling to gain a foothold, and a lack of cohesion up front was equally evident in defence, and although fit-again Hedwiges Maduro impressed, he was left standing after 10 minutes when Martins's fine, long-range shot rattled the crossbar.
Anonymous for much of the first half, Stankovic advanced up the left flank on 25 minutes and his cross hit the arm of Ajax captain Olaf Lindenbergh. The referee awarded a debatable penalty, but Adriano failed to convert, his feeble attempt rolling the wrong side of the post, and that proved a wake-up call for the visitors.
Right back Hatem Trabelsi started to push farther upfield, allowing Mauro Rosales more space, and 10 minutes before half-time the Argentinian finally forced Francesco Toldo to make a save.
A Figo effort within seconds of the restart indicated the return of Inter supremacy. Some 13 minutes later Stankovic broke the deadlock with a sumptuous strike. Walter Samuel's searching ball found the midfielder unmarked, and after shimmying inside Maduro, he rifled the ball into the far corner.
INTER MILAN: Toldo; Javier Zanetti, Materazzi, Samuel, Wome, Figo, Veron (Cristiano Zanetti 74), Cambiasso, Stankovic, Adriano, Martins (Recoba 83). Subs not used: Julio Cesar, Burdisso, Pizarro, Cruz, Cesar. Goal: Stankovic 57.
AJAX: Stekelenburg; Trabelsi, Maduro, Vermaelen, Juanfran, Pienaar, Lindenbergh, Boukhari, Rosales (Babel 71), Huntelaar, Rosenberg (Charisteas 74). Subs not used: Vonk, Boakye, Schilder, Sarpong, Timisela. Booked: Vermaelen.
Referee: Peter Frojdfeldt (Sweden).
