Dzeko and Sanchez wonder strikes see off Roma as Inter reach semis

MILAN – Inter are back. With a vengeance. The Nerazzurri bounced back from their derby blackout to put Roma to the sword and reach the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia with a dominant 2-0 victory at the Meazza. 

Edin Dzeko set Inter on the way with a superb volley less than two minutes into the game before an absolute peach of a goal from Alexis Sanchez sealed the win in the second half.

It was time to banish the ghosts from the derby against AC Milan. There was a buzz in the air ahead of what was a big game, with everyone pulling in the same direction. Inter v Roma had  an air of 'Interismo' about it from the get go, with San Siro paying tribute to Jose Mourinho on his first time back at the Meazza as an opponent.

The mark of a great team is how they get back up from the canvas and Inter made it clear from the off that what happened against AC Milan was just a bump along the road. Less than two minutes in and Edin Dzeko had the ball in the back of the net, registering his second goal against his former team. Sanchez nodded the ball into the path of Ivan Perisic on the left, who put in a left-footed cross which was met by a flying right-footed volley from Edin. An absolute screamer.

Inter, attacking towards the Curva Nord in the first half (a rare occurrence at home), didn't let up. In the sixth minute Nicolo Barella skimmed the bar from 25 yards out. Ten minutes in Rui Patricio had to stop two headers from Milan Skriniar and Dzeko.

Inter were back to their old selves but after fifteen minutes of blood and thunder and despite the fact they dominated possession (over 60% in the first half) they dropped off in the final third and let Roma back into the game as the Giallorossi twice went close to equalising.

First Danilo D’Ambrosio narrowly put it over Samir Handanovic’s goal from close range, much like against Empoli in 2019. Next Samir managed to block what seemed like a sitter for Nicolo Zaniolo.

The game then shifted towards the midfield battle as it got a bit rough. On the stroke of half time Alessandro Bastoni limped off with a sprained ankle after an aerial battle brought his night to an end, Stefan de Vrij replacing him just before the break.

The second half started off slowly with Roma unable to up the tempo. Long-range efforts first from Jordan Veretout and then Sergio Oliveira were as much as the Giallorossi could muster, with Handanovic putting behind for a corner. Inter realised they couldn’t play with fire and had to kill Roma off as the game wasn’t yet in the bag. They needed a killer punch.

Barella shot from long range as he did in the first half, looking to score a wonder goal. Rui Patricio bounced across to the top corner to fend off the danger.

As the long-range shots continued, it was a rocket from distance that decided the match. With everyone egging him on to shoot, Sanchez did just that and unleashed a screamer of a right-footed shot which ended up in the top corner from 30 yards out. A Maravilla screamer that sent the San Siro into raptures.

Roma were on the canvas and Lautaro almost made it three from Vidal’s cross.

The end of the game was purely academic but Skriniar and D’Ambrosio deserve praise for key interventions when the game was at 1-0.

The Nerazzurri will now wait to find out their semi-final opponents – the winner of AC Milan v Lazio on Wednesday night – while immediately turning their attentions to Saturday's Serie A showdown with Napoli.  

Inter 2-0 Roma (HT 1-0)Scorers: Dzeko 2, Sanchez 68.

INTER (3-5-2): 1 Handanovic; 33 D'Ambrosio, 37 Skriniar, 95 Bastoni (6 De Vrij 45); 36 Darmian, 23 Barella (20 Calhanoglu 85), 77 Brozovic, 22 Vidal (8 Vecino 85), 14 Perisic (2 Dumfries 85); 9 Dzeko (10 Lautaro 76), 7 Sanchez.Subs not used: 21 Cordaz, 97 Radu, 5 Gagliardini, 11 Kolarov, 13 Ranocchia, 32 Dimarco.Coach: Simone Inzaghi.

ROMA (3-4-1-2): 1 Rui Patricio; 23 Mancini, 6 Smalling, 3 Ibanez (24 Kumbulla 46); 2 Karsdorp, 17 Veretout (4 Cristante 70), 27 Oliveira ( 7 Pellegrini 70), 5 Viña (92 El Shaarawy 76); 77 Mkhitaryan; 22 Zaniolo, 9 Abraham (64 Afena-Gyan 89).Subs not used: 63 Boer, 87 Fuzato,11 Perez, 14 Shomurodov, 15 Maitland-Niles, 52 Bove, 59 Zalewski.Coach: Jose Mourinho.

Booked: Zaniolo (R), Mancini (R), Mourinho (R).Added time: 3+4 minutes.

Referee: Di Bello.Assistants: Galetto, Vecchi.Fourth official: Gariglio.VAR: Pairetto.Assistant VAR: Preti.