Milito brace sees Inter triumph
22 May 2010 09:48pm Diego Milito struck both goals as Inter Milan beat Bayern Munich 2-0 to win the Champions League and clinch an historic treble.
Milito scored in the 34th and 70th minutes as Jose Mourinho's side added the European title to their domestic league and cup crowns.
Bayern improved after the break but could find no way through, with Julio Cesar denying Thomas Muller and Arjen Robben with superb saves.
Nerazzurri playmaker Wesley Sneijder came closest to breaking the stalemate during an evenly-fought opening 30 minutes. The dead-ball specialist tried his luck from a free-kick 35 yards out, and Bayern goalkeeper Hans-Jorg Butt needed to dive to his left to parry the ball away after it had taken a slight deflection off his team-mate Hamit Altintop.
Sneijder, who was one of four former Madrid players in an Inter side without a single Italian, was involved in most of his side's attacks and it was no surprise to see him play a key role in the opening goal of the game.
Julio Cesar's long punt forward was headed down by Milito to Sneijder, who immediately set his team-mate through the heart of the Bayern defence. The 30-year-old Argentinian powered into the area before leaving Butt with no chance to save with a rising shot.
Inter almost doubled their advantge when Milito picked out Sneijder running into the box and it needed a good block by Butt to keep out the former Ajax man's left-footed shot.
Bayern, who were out much quicker than Inter following half-time, had created little to test Julio Cesar in the first half but they almost fashioned an equaliser 25 seconds after the restart. Ivica Olic's clever flick found Altintop in space and the Turkish international then fed the unmarked Thomas Muller on the edge of the Inter area, but the 20-year-old was denied by the feet of Julio Cesar.
Moments after that Inter launched a breakaway that almost resulted in a second goal, Goran Pandev's shot being superbly tipped over one-handed by Butt. Robben almost managed to level with a curling 20-yard effort that brought a brilliant save out of Julio Cesar, while Muller saw a goal-bound effort blocked by the head of Esteban Cambiasso.
Bayern were dominating possession but they were hit with the ultimate sucker punch in the 70th minute as Inter broke away to double their lead. Milito still had plenty of work to do when he picked up Samuel Eto'o's pass 35 yards out but he superbly turned Daniel van Buyten inside out before coolly finishing past Butt.
© The Press Association