Inter are through to the Semi’s of the Coppa Italia thanks to a 2nd minute goal from Dzeko and an absolute screamer from Sanchez.
It was a match which won’t ever go down in history as being fantastic, although Inter did enough to get the result and hopefully gain a bit of confidence moving forward. Final score ending 2-0 to Inter.
The pre-match was filled with the Curva Nord celebrating former Inter coach Jose Mourinho. This was the first time Mourinho has faced Inter at San Siro since parting ways with the Nerazzurri over a decade ago.
Let’s look further into the match itself.
Man of the Match –
From hobbling off against Milan to starring against Roma – Ivan Perisic was back to being superb.
It took less than a couple of minutes for Ivan to get an assist to his name. An interception, 1-2 with Sanchez then a run to the edge of the box before a delightful cross straight to the feet of Dzeko. The Bosnian made no mistake putting Inter up 1-0.
There were moments of brilliance from Perisic as he was always a danger on that left-hand side. Near the end, Perisic almost had one of his own after his headed shot just went wide of the goal. A few crucial interceptions in defence too helped Inter in keeping a clean sheet.
For pretty much the entirety of the match, Perisic was causing a nuisance of himself for the Roma defenders. It wasn’t until the 85th minute before Inzaghi decided to give him a break, but up came Dumfries to cause more headaches.
It’s hard to think about an Inter team without Perisic as he contributes so much to this squad. With Gosens, it’s a great replacement but I still believe that Ivan has more to offer. I really hope we can see Perisic in an Inter jersey for a couple more seasons.
Below: Highlights from the Coppa Italia Quarter-Final between Inter and Roma
Where do we go from here?
The situation is very difficult for Inzaghi at the moment. Which strike force does he go with upfront?
In matches where it’s been Sanchez and Dzeko to start, we’ve seen balance and chemistry upfront. Unfortunately when Lautaro has paired with Dzeko, the best of our number 10 just isn’t being seen.
To be honest, the partnership of Lautaro and Dzeko has fizzled over time, and we can see they are just two players who don’t compliment each other at all.
Both our starting strikers got on the score sheet today, which leads me to believe we had our best two on the pitch today. The goals from Dzeko and Sanchez were sublime. Complete opposites but impressive in the same way.
Dzeko’s was a lovely volley with plenty of power as Patricio stood no chance. The ball was taken in the air on the first touch as Dzeko let the ball slide past his body to smash it near the corner. This is so difficult to do.
The second goal was just outrageous and it’s probably the best Inter goal of the season that I’ve seen. Sanchez was about ten yards outside the box and the strike was sensationally placed into the top corner. I could watch it on replay all day, so beautiful!
Get well soon!
Alessandro Bastoni looks to be out for a little while after a serious ankle injury. From the replays during the match, it appears that Bastoni may have some ligament damage as his foot got stuck and rolled under Zaniolo.
Bastoni limped off the pitch and then was seen hobbling around the bench not long after. We will have to wait until the results of the scans come back in the next day or two before we find out just how serious it is.
If this is a bad one, we may see Bastoni out for months, not weeks. This would put a major blow to Inter’s Champions League and Serie A aspirations as we know the young Italian is a crucial piece to this squad.
All Interisti and Italians in general will be praying for a fast recovery!
He’s almost back –
I’m talking about none other than Nicolo Barella. In a match where there wasn’t too much space for either team, Barella made the best of what he had.
There were two opportunities where Nicolo almost found himself on the scoresheet. An absolutely brilliant strike in the first few minutes banged off the crossbar. An inch lower and it would’ve found it’s way into the net.
In the second half, Barella again from distance hit the ball with power and accuracy forcing a marvelous save from Patricio.
All it takes is one of these to go in and I think Barella’s confidence will come back to him. It feels like one ounce of luck will bring back the player who won the midfielder of the season in 2020/21.
As we know, Barella is suspended for the Champions League fixtures against Liverpool. This is really going to test us, but it’s Nicolo’s own fault for the stupidity against Madrid. Fingers crossed he continues to impress in the league.
Where to next?
In a match which defines our season, Inter head south to Napoli. This will be the biggest test of the campaign as all the pressure is now on Inter. If we lose this, we could go down to third place which would be a huge blow to our confidence.
Prediction: Inter 1-0
Be sure to check out the homepage of our website for all the latest Inter news here!
Also, make sure you head over to our new YouTube channel for Inter Worldwide here. Please like and subscribe as we continue to build out the community.
As always, Forza Inter!
