Inter Milan crush Shakhtar to reach Europa League final

Antonio Conte is one win away from closing out his first season at Inter Milan with some silverware.

The Nerazzurri waltzed into the final of the Europa League, claiming a dominant 5-0 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk on Monday. Two Lautaro Martinez goals sandwiched a Danilo D'Ambrosio header, and prolific striker Romelu Lukaku kept his impressive scoring streak alive with a pair of late tallies to cap a commanding showing from the Serie A side.

Inter - looking to claim their first European trophy since winning the Champions League in 2010 - will now meet Sevilla in Friday's final in Germany.

With Monday's win, they became the first Italian side to reach the showpiece match of the competition since Parma, which accomplished the feat in 1999 when the tournament was still known as the UEFA Cup.

"It was an incredible night, the kind we dreamed of," Martinez told Sky Sport Italia after the match, as translated by Football Italia. "It had been a long time since I played that well, and in a semifinal, we proved Inter are ready for great things. We're ready for the final."

The Argentine striker opened the scoring with a pinpoint header in the 19th minute, capitalizing on the only true opportunity either side had in the first half.

Inter neutralized Shakhtar's crop of exciting attackers - the Ukrainian team was held to a single shot on target - and then blew the doors off the match after the hour mark.

After D'Ambrosio and Martinez made it 3-0, Lukaku got in on the action.

The Belgian star - scoring in all five of Inter's Europa League matches this season - brought his total tally to 33 for the campaign with the late brace. The former Manchester United striker is now just one goal shy of equaling Brazilian icon Ronaldo's record for most goals by a player in his first season with Inter.

The Europa League final would be a fitting place to level, or surpass, that mark.