Inter 0-3 AC Milan (1-4 agg): Rossoneri thump city rivals to reach Coppa Italia final

AC Milan recorded a famous night in their recent history as they beat Inter 3-0 in the second leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final.

The man who will rightly steal the spotlight is Luka Jovic, who put Milan in the first half with a header from an Alex Jimenez cross. Then, he buried a loose ball inside the box early in the second half to double the advantage.

Tijjani Reijnders got in on the act late on by thumping home a low shot to finally put things to bed after a few missed chances, and just like that the Rossoneri’s rather remarkable derby record in 2024-25 continued.

The 4-1 aggregate win means that Milan will face either Bologna or Empoli in the Rome final, though it is likely to be the former given that they won the first leg 3-0.

Sergio Conceicao chose not to make any changes from the team that lost to Atalanta on Sunday. That means the three-man defence was chosen again, while Luka Jovic was given the nod up front again despite rumours in the build-up that Tammy Abraham would start.

The tone for the occasion was set inside the opening minute when Rafael Leao twice ran at Bisseck down the left and both times was met by a firm but fair challenge. A couple of minutes later, Leao chopped the centre-back down with a challenge of his own.

After both sides traded corners in a cagey opening, it was Inter who had the first big opportunity. A long ball up towards the strikers was flicked on, allowing Darmian to surge into acres of space and eventually drag a low shot wide inside the box.

Milan were simply dreadful in possession during the opening 20 minutes, with almost every player guilty of giving away the ball in dangerous areas, or thumping it aimlessly into the arms of Martinez in the Inter goal.

The Nerazzurri thought they had beaten the high line when a ball over the top was latched onto by Lautaro leaving him 1v1 against Matteo Gabbia. His shot was blocked, the follow-up by Dimarco was saved by Mike Maignan, then the flag went up.

Dimarco was someone we identified before the game as someone who is always a big threat to Milan, and he got in behind Alex Jimenez on the left side of the box midway through the first half, lashing a shot off the top off the crossbar.

After an end-to-end opening half an hour the game calmed down a bit, but Inter could have taken the lead when a deep cross was nodded down well to Lautaro, before the Argentine forward jabbed it over the bar after a good touch to settle.

In minute 35, Milan took the lead and it could be said to have come against the run of play. It was a lovely move though, with Theo driving infield from the left and then Reijnders working it to Jimenez, whose perfect cross was headed in emphatically by Jovic.

The last couple of attempts in the opening 45 minutes went to Bisseck rather surprisingly, with the centre-back twice letting fly from about 20 yards. One sailed over, and the other was caught by Maignan.

Less than five minutes into the second half, Milan doubled their advantage and it was Jovic who got his second of the night. A corner was whipped to the far stick by Theo and as Barella tried to hold off Leao the ball seemed to hit him and drop to the Serbian striker, who stabbed it in from close range to make it 1-3 on aggregate.

Milan had a couple of big opportunities to potentially kill the tie off before the hour mark. Firstly Reijnders found Leao’s run in behind and having got one-on-one with Sommer, the Portuguese tried to square to Jovic but it was just behind him. Not long after, a ball dropped to Jimenez deep inside the box who somehow lifted his attempt wide from just a few yards out.

Simone Inzaghi was clearly fuming because he made four subs: Asllani, Barella, Dimarco and Taremi came off; Calhanoglu, Frattesi, Zalewski and Arnautovic came on. Matteo Gabbia was withdrawn for Malick Thiaw with what looked like neck pain.

The two sides traded headed chances just before the midway point in the second half: Pavlovic headed a corner over at the near-post, then Lautaro’s was caught by Maignan.

Maignan’s best moment was yet to come though, as De Vrij connected perfectly with a corner that he directed downwards, yet the Frenchman stuck out a powerful hand and somehow it was cleared.

Inter continued to have chances to get themselves back into the game, like when Calhanoglu’s cross was flicked on by Frattesi then flicked wide by a sprawling Arnautovic.

In minute 78, Conceicao made a double change. Jovic left the field to an ovation from the Curva Sud after his brace, replaced by Tammy Abraham, then Pulisic made way for Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

With five minutes left on the clock Milan finally did put the game and the semi-final to bed courtesy of Tijjani Reijnders, who got another goal in the derby. Leao had the task of slipping the Dutchman in behind as Inter refused to get any men back, and the finish inside the far post was as emphatic as it was precise.