Inter’s big night in Porto was a “throwback” to a period when it was more common to see teams from Serie A fighting in the latter stages of the Champions League.

This is the view in today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, via FCInterNews, who suggested that the Nerazzurri’s gritty triumph at the Estadio do Dragao hit a note of nostalgia, particularly with the context of AC Milan and Napoli also reaching the next round of the Champions League.

A couple of decades ago, it was normal to see Italian teams going far in the Champions League, with the likes of Inter, Milan, Juventus, Roma, and Lazio among the teams from Italy to have been showcased well into the knockouts of the competition.

Now, this has become much less common to see, as illustrated by the fact that twelve months ago not a single team from Serie A was in the Champions League’s last eight.

Accordingly, seeing Inter fight to the end to reach the round at the Estadio do Dragao, particularly with the context of AC Milan and Napoli doing the same, felt like a bit of a blast from the past.