Normally the first match follows the order of the draw, but on 11 and 12 April the Meazza should have hosted two matches in two days. What does the regulation provide?
After the bogeymen Real Madrid and Chelsea, drawn in the first pairing of the quarter-finals of the Champions League, the third ball drawn by Hamit Altintop was that of Inter. Then, Benfica. In theory, therefore, the first leg should have been played at the Giuseppe Meazza after Easter, following the order of the draws in Nyon. But it won’t be like this: first Simone Inzaghi’s team will fly to Lisbon and the following week they will play at San Siro.
The inversion
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The reason is simple, the functioning of the regulation a little less so. In fact, Milan were also drawn first in pairing with Napoli and therefore the week after Easter the Meazza should have hosted two matches one day after the other: one on Tuesday and one on Wednesday. Obviously that is not possible and UEFA foresees an exceptional reversal in case it reaches the quarter-finals – the first knockout round shortened into a single week – with two teams playing in the same stadium, which in itself is already unique in the competition. In these cases, in fact, we look at the placement in the previous national championship, therefore Serie A 2021-2022: the team that finishes behind in the standings reverses the order of the matches, the one that finishes in front keeps it. Therefore it will be precisely Inter who will face the away match at Da Luz first and then the match at San Siro and not reigning Italian champion Milan. The Rossoneri, therefore, would have in any case followed the verdict of the ballot box.
March 17, 2023 (change March 17, 2023 | 2:30 pm)
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