Sportsbook Fans Follow Inter Milan into Champions League Final. Inter Milan will be favored at the sportsbook in the Champions League final after defeating Barcelona in the semifinals. Inter Milan advanced to the final 3-2 on aggregate. They won the first leg 3-1 in an Internet sportsbook upset and although they lost 1-0 in the second leg they already had enough of an advantage to make it to the final.
Sportsbook odds list Inter Milan as the favorite against Bayern Munich in the Champions League final on Saturday, May 22nd. Bayern had little trouble with Lyon in their semifinal. Inter Milan was not expected to beat Barcelona in odds at the Internet sportsbook but after their 3-1 win it was all about defense in the second leg. Manager Jose Mourinho put in a brilliant game plan for the second leg match and Barcelona could only get one goal. Inter had to play for more than an hour with 10 men but Barcelona still couldn’t get the other goal they needed.
Thiago Motta was sent off in the 28th minute but Milan played a defensive game and Barcelona was thwarted. Gerard Pique scored for Barcelona in the 84th minute to make it 1-0 but Barcelona could not get another goal. A 2-0 victory would have tied the aggregate score and Barcelona would have advanced on away goals but they never got that other goal. “We suffered a lot to reach this final. We didn’t have many chances after we lost Thiago Motta,” Inter defender Maicon said. “But after that it was a question of desire.”
Barcelona dominated much of the match against Inter Milan but it didn’t matter as Inter didn’t need to score to advance. Ibrahimovic was a non-factor again for Barcelona and the team really didn’t threaten as much as they should have. Lionel Messi was the lone threat for Barcelona but he really didn’t get a lot of chances. He has not done anything recently against Mourinho’s defense and that didn’t change in the semifinal. “We knew we would suffer in this marvelous stadium, but we did what we had to do tonight,” said Samuel Eto’o, “We knew that if we defended well, we had our chances.”
Sportsbook statistics indicate that Inter Milan will be looking for their third Champions League title. They won in 1964 and 1965, when the competition was known as the Champion Clubs’ Cup.