Inter beats Juventus to reach Italian Cup final in repeat bid

A swipe from Dimarco is enough to send Inter to the Italian Cup final: the goal that allows Simone Inzaghi’s team to beat Juventus and reach the last act of the national cup for the second consecutive season is from the Nerazzurri’s heart. A performance of substance for Inter, who are preparing in the best possible way for the final rush of a year in which their future is yet to be written, between the Champions League semi-final against Milan, the run-up to fourth place and, indeed, the hunt to the second Coppa Italia in a row. Juventus are left with the disappointment of a subdued performance, also in light of the absences that deprive Allegri of various offensive options, but, pending decisions at the level of sports justice (“exclusion from the cups? Only indiscretions, no news” he explained in the pre – the CFO Calvo has left), for the bianconeri now the head will go to the Europa League and to maintaining their position in the Champions League area.

Driven by the more than 75,000 at San Siro (with 4.1 million box office receipts, a record for the Italian Cup, excluding the finals), Inter are starting strong, driven by their leaders. Barella immediately tries to invent, on one of his poisonous crosses, however, Lautaro Martinez only touches and Dzeko from two steps fails to reiterate on the net. Juve put up little resistance, also because the light attack with Chiesa and Di Maria didn’t manage to worry too much the Inter rearguard. Thus the landlords pass: a hole from Barella for Dimarco (naively kept in play by Kostic), a dirty lefty who displaces Perin by giving the advantage to Inzaghi’s men. Lautaro conceded the ball for the double, but his right foot from the edge ends just wide. The black and white reaction is all in an imprecise header by De Sciglio and in a shot from the edge by Kostic well rejected by Onana. Among the Nerazzurri, the most dangerous remains Lautaro Martinez, who commits Perin again just before the break with a left-footed foot. In the second half, Allegri shuffled the cards, abandoning the three-man defense and focusing on Milik as a center forward flanked by Chiesa and Di Maria. Juve thus tries to raise the pressure, Miretti and Locatelli try immediately with two shots from distance, creating big headaches for Onana. Instead, it was Inter who made themselves dangerous again from Perin’s side, so much so that Dzeko also doubled his lead but starting from an offside position and the referee canceled. The nerazzurri close and restart well, in one of the various counter-attacks Dumfries flies but on his low cross Lautaro almost gets on the ball. Perin is still needed to keep the black and whites in the game thanks to a super intervention on a close shot by Mkhitaryan. Inzaghi was forced to replace Calhanoglu due to a muscle problem, while Allegri also played the Pogba card in the final. However, the Frenchman is far from his best form, so much so that Onana’s goal doesn’t run dangerous except for a precise exit from the Nerazzurri goalkeeper on Chiesa. This is how Inter is celebrating, with San Siro preparing for the Euroderby closing the evening with the classic “who doesn’t skip Milan is a Milan player” which already makes the Meazza tremble.

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