Inter Milan secured a 2-0 victory at Feyenoord in the first leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie on Wednesday with goals from Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez.
Feyenoord looked more dangerous the first half but Inter went ahead against the run of play when Thuram scored with an acrobatic volley in the 38th minute and Martinez netted with a shot into the top corner soon after halftime.
The return leg in Milan will be played on Tuesday and the winners will face Bayern Munich or Bayer Leverkusen for a spot in the semifinals.
Inter dominated possession in the opening stages but the hosts launched effective counter-attacks, a low attempt at the near post from Ibrahim Osman forcing Inter keeper Josep Martínez into an early save.
The Serie A leaders often lacked precision but Thuram finished off a great team move to put them ahead after the French forward struck from close range following a long cross from Nicolò Barella.
The goal lifted Inter and they doubled their lead five minutes into the second half when Martinez scored his sixth goal in this season’s competition.
It was the Argentine’s 18th goal in the Champions League for Inter as he became the club’s all-time leading scorer in the competition.
Jakub Moder hit the bar for the hosts but Inter could have made it 3-0 when they were awarded a penalty for a foul on Thuram just after the hour mark.
Feyenoord keeper Timon Wellenreuther guessed Piotr Zielinski’s intentions, however, and saved the Poland midfielder’s low shot.
The result dented Feyenoord’s chances of reaching the quarter-finals of Europe’s premier club competition for the first time since 1971-72 as new coach Robin van Persie made his Champions League managerial debut.
