Inter Kicks Milan Out Of Italian Cup, Thanks To Eriksen's Late Goal

Inter Milan (Twitter @inter_en)

JAKARTA - Inter Milan eliminated city rivals, AC Milan, from the Italian Cup through a dramatic 2-1 victory in the quarter-finals played at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, Milan, on Tuesday or Wednesday morning local time.

Milan took the lead first thanks to Zlatan Ibrahimovic's goal in the 31st minute, but Romelu Lukaku's penalty in the 71st minute brought the score to the same level, and Christian Eriksen's goal in the 97th minute secured Nerrazurri's victory, as quoted by Antara from Italian League official page.

𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓. 𝐀. 𝐌𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓. 🤩#InterMilan #DerbyMilano #FORZAINTER ⚫️🔵 pic.twitter.com/sGTyCfTHy2

— Inter (@Inter_en) January 26, 2021

The victory at the derby Della Madonnina sent Inter through to the semifinals, where they will face either Juventus or SPAL.

Milan tried to take the initiative to attack first with Rafael Leao's wide shoot. Rossonerri got the next opportunity with an off-target heading from Ibrahimovic.

Simon Kjaer's injury made him have to be pulled off the field to be replaced by Fikayo Tomori. It was the first appearance for the player who was brought in from Chelsea.

Inter threatened back through Romelu Lukaku who received a through ball from Matteo Darmian. He then outwitted Alessio Romagnoli to fire a shot that goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu could still save.

Milan then broke the deadlock when Ibrahimovic controlled the ball on the edge of the box and then fired a shot over Aleksandar Kolarov's legs, so as to bounce and go into the net that Samir Handanovic was guarding.

Alexis Sanchez fired in an accurate heading after receiving Ivan Perisic's cross, but the ball was still held by Theo Hernandez before it crossed the goal line, and was kept away by Tomori.

Marcelo Brozovic's volley soared near the post was his last chance before halftime.

But the end of the first half was a bit tainted by Ibrahimovic's feud with Lukaku, to the extent that the two of them had to be separated by their team-mates and made the two former Manchester United attackers got yellow cards.

Inter coach Antonio Conte brought on Achraf Hakimi in the second half, and he made an immediate impact by sending the ball to meet Alexis Sanchez's volley. But the ball was held by the Tatarusanu goalkeeper.

Milan then had to play with ten players starting in the 58th minute, after Ibrahimovic fouled Kolarov. The referee also awarded the Swedish veteran player a second yellow card.

Superior in player number makes Inter more aggressive in attacking. They then won a penalty after Leao dropped Barella in the forbidden box.

The referee did not actually see the incident clearly, but he made a decision by looking at the VAR review and the penalty execution was taken perfectly by Lukaku.

Referee Paolo Valeri then suffered a thigh injury and had to be replaced by fourth official Daniele Chiffi. The referee then decided to give ten minutes of additional time.

The Inter onslaught continued. Hakimi's shot from the edge of the penalty box was blocked by Tatarusanu.

Another good chance came to Lautaro Martinez, whose shot headed straight at the Milan keeper. Tatarusanu then made another fine save when he saved Lukaku's shot from close range.

Inter got their chance to secure a ticket to the next round after Soualiho Meite fouled Martinez on the edge of the penalty box.

Eriksen took the free kick by releasing a curling shot aimed at the top corner of the goal to ensure Nerrazurri's victory.

. @ ChrisEriksen8's free kick in one word ____________ ✏️Go. 👇 # InterMilan #DerbyMilano #FORZAINTER ⚫️🔵 pic.twitter.com/KTkMFMkQTF

- Inter (@Inter_en) January 26, 2021

The composition of players:

Inter Milan (3-5-2): Samir Handanovic, Milan Skriniar, Stefan de Vrij, Aleksandar Kolarov (Ashley Young 90 '), Nicolo Barella, Marcelo Brozovic (Christian Eriksen 88'), Arturo Vidal, Ivan Perisic (Lautaro Martinez 67 '), Matteo Darmian (Achraf Hakimi 46'), Alexis Sanchez, Romelu Lukaku

Coach: Antonio Conte

AC Milan (4-2-3-1): Ciprian Tatarusanu, Diogo Dalot, Alessio Romagnoli, Theo Hernandez, Simon Kjaer (Fikayo Tomori 20 '), Soualiho Meite, Franck Kessie, Alexis Saelemaekers (Samuel Castillejo 85'), Brahim Diaz (Ante Rebic 60 '), Rafael Leao (Rade Krunic 85'), Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini