Inter Milan's road to the Champions League final

Inter Milan will look to win the Champions League against the odds when they face Manchester City in Saturday's final.

Having failed to make it beyond the quarter-finals since winning the trophy in 2009-10, the Serie A giants have already defied the critics.

We look at Inter's road to Istanbul as they bid to crush City's Treble dream and win European football's elite competition for the fourth time.

Group stage

The Nerazzurri were drawn in a difficult Group C alongside European heavyweights Bayern Munich and Barcelona, as well as Czech champions Viktoria Plzen.

After a defeat and a win against Bayern and Plzen respectively, Inter put themselves in command in the race for second place by overcoming Barca 1-0 at the San Siro through Hakan Calhanoglu's effort.

A thrilling 3-3 draw at the Camp Nou a week later meant progression as runners-up could be sealed if they beat Plzen in the following match — and they did so in emphatic style with a 4-0 success.

That result dumped the Blaugrana out at the group stage for the second season running and meant Inter's knockout place was already secured prior to another 2-0 loss at Bayern.

Round of 16

First leg: Porto 0-0 Inter Milan. Second leg: Inter 1-0 Porto. (Inter win 1-0 on agg)

Both Inter and Group B winners Porto missed a hatful of chances in their first-leg clash before Romelu Lukaku rose from the bench to score the winner five minutes from time.

The Chelsea loanee's effort on the rebound after his header had hit the post proved to be decisive following a goalless draw in the second leg in Portugal.

Quarter-finals

First leg: Benfica 0-2 Inter Milan. Second leg: Inter 3-3 Benfica. (Inter win 5-3 on agg)

Some had earmarked Primera Liga outfit Benfica as outside contenders to reach the latter stages but Inter saw them off in convincing style.

A 2-0 victory at the Estadio da Luz courtesy of a Nicolo Barella header and Lukaku's penalty handed them a major advantage to take back to the San Siro.

Progession was all but sealed after they raced into a 5-1 aggregate lead before two late goals from the Eagles made it a more respectable 3-3 on the night and 5-3 overall.

Semi-finals

First leg: AC Milan 0-2 Inter Milan. Second leg: Inter 1-0 AC Milan. (Inter win 3-0 on agg)

The ruthless efficiency Inter have exhibited throughout the competition was on show once again in their semi-final against bitter rivals AC Milan.

A dominant opening period in the first leg saw Simone Inzaghi's men race into a 2-0 lead through Edin Dzeko and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

A fifth clean sheet in six knockout games eliminated any hopes of a dramatic second-leg turnaround for the Rossoneri in a controlled display.

And when Lautaro Martinez fired home his third Champions League goal of the campaign in the 76th minute, jubilant Inter supporters began to book their flights to Turkey's capital.