AC Milan etched another memorable night into their modern history as they cruised past Inter with a 3-0 win in the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final, sealing a 4-1 victory on aggregate.
The spotlight deservedly belongs to Luka Jovic, whose first-half header from an Alex Jimenez delivery put the Rossoneri ahead.
The Serbian striker doubled the lead shortly after the break, reacting quickly to a loose ball in the box and firing home to increase the advantage.
Tijjani Reijnders rounded off the commanding performance in the dying minutes, smashing a low strike into the net to finally kill the game off. That moment capped off Milan’s impressive derby form in the 2024-25 season.
Their comprehensive aggregate win sets up a Coppa Italia final clash in Rome against either Bologna or Empoli. With Bologna having already claimed a 3-0 first-leg lead, they appear the likely opponents.
Sergio Conceicao decided to stick with the same lineup that fell to Atalanta at the weekend, opting once again for a three-man defence.
Despite speculation that Tammy Abraham might start, Jovic was handed the nod once more—and repaid the faith handsomely.
The intensity of the Derby della Madonnina was felt straight from kickoff. Rafael Leao immediately attacked Inter’s Bisseck twice on the left flank, only to be met with well-timed challenges.
A few minutes later, Leao returned the favor with a crunching tackle of his own.
The opening exchanges were tense, with both teams trading corners. Inter carved out the first real opportunity when a flick-on sent Darmian through on goal, but his low drive skidded wide of the post.
Milan struggled to find rhythm early on, giving the ball away in dangerous areas and playing long, hopeful balls that were easily claimed by Inter goalkeeper Martinez.
The Nerazzurri thought they had pierced Milan’s high defensive line when Lautaro broke clear to face Matteo Gabbia one-on-one. His effort was blocked, Dimarco’s follow-up was denied by Mike Maignan, and eventually the offside flag went up.
Dimarco continued to look threatening, racing in behind Jimenez and smashing a shot that clipped the top of the crossbar.
As the game settled past the 30-minute mark, Inter missed another good chance when Lautaro misfired a volley after bringing down a well-placed header.
Then, in the 35th minute, Milan struck against the run of play. Theo Hernandez drove in from the left, linked up with Reijnders who shifted the ball to Jimenez, and the youngster whipped in a precise cross for Jovic to head home, the cross was perfect and the header emphatic.
Before the interval, Inter defender Bisseck tried his luck twice from distance, one attempt flew high, and the other was comfortably collected by Maignan.
Soon after the restart, Jovic struck again. A corner from Theo was floated to the back post, and after a scramble involving Barella and Leao, the ball fell kindly to the Serbian, who poked it in from close range: “Stabbed it in from close range to make it 1-3 on aggregate.”
Milan could have ended the tie shortly after, with Reijnders slipping Leao in behind. The winger went one-on-one with Sommer but unselfishly tried to square to Jovic, only to misplace the pass. Jimenez then missed a golden chance himself, firing wide from just yards out.
A frustrated Simone Inzaghi rang the changes, subbing off Asllani, Barella, Dimarco, and Taremi for Calhanoglu, Frattesi, Zalewski, and Arnautovic. Gabbia was also replaced by Malick Thiaw after appearing to suffer a neck injury.
Inter had a few glimpses at goal through headers—Pavlovic went close at one end, and Lautaro’s was calmly caught by Maignan at the other.
The standout moment for Maignan came when De Vrij powered a downward header from a corner, but the French goalkeeper produced a spectacular save to deny him: “Yet the Frenchman stuck out a powerful hand and somehow it was cleared.”
Inter kept pushing. Calhanoglu’s delivery was flicked on by Frattesi and nudged wide by Arnautovic, who was just inches from pulling one back.
In the 78th minute, Jovic made way to rapturous applause from the Curva Sud, replaced by Abraham, while Ruben Loftus-Cheek came on for Pulisic.
With time running out, Milan struck a decisive third. Leao picked out Reijnders with a precise through ball as Inter’s backline was caught high, and the Dutch midfielder rifled his finish into the far corner, The finish inside the far post was as emphatic as it was precise.
And just like that, Milan’s derby dominance rolled on, setting up a Roman showdown for silverware.
