Milan halted Inter’s treble dream with a exceptional 3-0 victory within the second leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final tie. Sergio Conceicao’s prices delivered an excellent efficiency on the San Siro to safe their first look within the home cup remaining since 2018.
After a 1-0 dwelling loss to Atalanta final weekend killed Milan’s remaining hope of pulling off a late comeback in Serie A, tonight’s sport had all of the makings of a ‘must-win’ affair. Nevertheless, Inter had three phenomenal possibilities to take the lead however couldn’t discover a well past Mike Maignan.
When it regarded like Milan would draw one other first-half clean, Luka Jovic delivered a second of magic. The in-form Serbian striker headed dwelling Alex Jimenez’s cross to place the designated ‘away’ facet 1-0 up at halftime, setting the tone for a dream evening.
Solely 4 minutes after the break, Jovic doubled his tally. This time, he latched onto a free ball contained in the six-yard field and slammed it previous Josep Martinez. With a 3-1 combination lead, Milan had the luxurious to drop again and attempt to catch Inter on the counter.
Nevertheless, Simone Inzaghi’s facet regarded out of steam within the remaining half an hour, permitting Milan to regulate the sport till the ultimate whistle. Standout midfielder Tijjani Reijnders put the icing on the cake within the eighty fifth minute to cap off a memorable evening for the Rossoneri.
With out additional ado, let’s have a look at our participant scores.
Milan (3-4-3)
Mike Maignan – 7
Regardless of Inter’s attacking prowess, the Frenchman solely needed to make three saves, together with a incredible cease to thwart Stefan de Vrij’s header within the second half.
Fikayo Tomori – 7
One of many Englishman’s greatest performances this season noticed him neutralize Mehdi Taremi within the first half and maintain Marko Arnautovic quiet afterward.
Matteo Gabbia – 7
Dominant within the air and composed when enjoying out from the again, Gabbia fared impressively, displaying maturity and good positional consciousness all through the match.
Strahinja Pavlovic – 7.5
Stopping Lautaro Martinez is perhaps essentially the most arduous process in Italian soccer, but the Serbian handed the check with flying colours. An excellent show from the towering center-back!
Theo Hernandez – 6.5
Although the star left-back wasn’t at all times at his greatest, particularly within the early phases, he progressively grew into the competition, changing into a real menace down the flank.
Tijjani Reijnders – 7.5
Again to his formidable greatest, the Dutch maestro loved an astonishing encounter, pulling all of the strings within the midfield. The purpose was a becoming reward for his masterclass efficiency.
Youssouf Fofana – 6.5
Let’s neglect about his sporadic attacking forays. The French midfielder was instrumental within the ‘break-up’ play, disabling Inter’s engine room with excellent positioning and infinite working.
Alejandro Jimenez – 7
Invisible till he supplied that match-defining help for Jovic’s opener. It seemingly put the wind in his sails as he usually ventured ahead with conviction.
Rafael Leao – 6.5
Had it not been for a late help for Reijnders, we might’ve spoken about one other disappointing displaying from the celebrity. There’s an perspective difficulty Conceicao should deal with.
Christian Pulisic – 6
The USMNT star’s type decline has develop into alarming. After a forgettable match in opposition to Atalanta, the ex-Chelsea winger provided one other near-anonymous show.
Luka Jovic – 8
What an evening for the Serb! His thumping header opened the scoring earlier than he confirmed he may very well be a ‘fox within the field’ for the second. He was Milan’s X-Issue tonight – virtually unplayable in possession!
Substitutes
Malick Thiaw – 6.5
Tammy Abraham – 6.5
Ruben Loftus-Cheek – 6
Joao Felix – N/A
Davide Bartesaghi – N/A
