Eriksen at Last! Free Kick Masterpiece Wins Inter Coppa Italia Derby

AC Milan, Coppa Italia, Inter, Inter Milan, Italian Football, Serie A

Who said that the Coppa Italia isn’t interesting? Perhaps it was because a derby is always a derby, but Inter and Milan gave life to a dramatic battle on Wednesday night, whose outcome was decided by the most unexpected man.

It was Christian Eriksen – Inter’s quasi-outcast – who pushed the Nerazzurri to the last four of the domestic cup with a magnificent free kick into added time to set the score at 2-1. It’s too soon to say whether tonight’s exploit will change the fate of the Dane’s adventure at Inter. But, regardless of how things will turn out, Eriksen has finally managed to leave some sort of a mark in his experience in black and blue. 

Inter thus managed to avenge their Coppa Italia defeat from 2017, when they had lost to Milan from a late Patrick Cutrone goal well into extra time. Revenge is best served cold.

But there was much more than Eriksen’s late goal in the battle of the San Siro, a match that offered a bit of everything, including a quasi-physical confrontation between Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Romelu Lukaku, and even an injury occurred to referee Paolo Valeri – who had to be replaced by 4th official Daniele Chiffi for the last 20 minutes.

Ibrahimovic was once again Milan’ man – for good and for bad. Zlatan put his side ahead in the first half, but right before the break he locked heads – almost literally – with Inter’s number 9, a scuffle that earned both players a yellow card. Ibra saw yellow again during the second period, thus receiving his marching orders from Valeri and giving way to Inter’s comeback.

With a one-man advantage, it was easy for the Nerazzurri to equalize from a Lukaku penalty kick and then find their winner by means of Eriksen’s magical free kick. It was a fair outcome in the end, as Antonio Conte’s side was in control for most of the second half and should have had their second earlier – if not for Milan’s backup goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu’s brilliant saves.

As important as a derby might be, both coaches didn’t want to risk and left room to many of their second lines. Among the Inter lines, there was a chance from the start for Aleksandar Kolarov in defense. The two wing-backs were Matteo Darmian and Ivan Perisic, while Romelu Lukaku’s attacking partner was Alexis Sanchez.

Stefano Pioli put Diogo Dalot as a right back and deployed Souaihlo Meité in midfield alongside Franck Kessié. Behind Ibrahimovic, it was up to Alexis Saelemaekers, Brahim Diaz, and Rafael Leao to provide ammunition. The man between the sticks was Tatarusanu instead of Gigio Donnarumma.

Twenty minutes into the game, Pioli was forced to make a change already as Simon Kjaer picked up an injury. The coach thus deployed Fikayo Tomori, who’s just arrived on loan from Chelsea.  

Inter seemed to have the upper hand in a derby that started slow, but as soon as Ibrahimovic got the ball on his feet he wreaked havoc on the Nerazzurri defense. His shot from the edge of the box passed through a forest of black and blue legs and clinically ended into the bottom right corner of Samir Handanovic’s goal.

Ibra’s show was not over as the Swede stole the spotlight again just before half time, in cohabitation with Inter’s Romelu Lukaku. The two had a very heated exchange, and even when their respective teammates separated them, they continued to yell at each other. Paolo Valeri’s yellow cards didn’t serve the purpose of cooling things down as especially Lukaku seemed very close to lose it.   

As both lineups went into the changing rooms for the break, an Inter staff was seen struggling to hold Lukaku and trying to make him understand that the referee would send him off if he didn’t stop. The fun thing is, he would not end up being the one sent off.

After the restart, Antonio Conte sent in Achraf Hakimi in place of Matteo Darmian as he needed a more offensive setup. Inter restarted to attack, but the episode that changed the course of the match was rather due to Milan shooting themselves in their own feet.

On 59 minutes, Ibrahimovic pushed down Aleksandar Kolarov to prevent the Serbian from triggering a counterattack. But the Swede was already booked and so Valeri could not but show him a red card. Milan’s game basically ended there, and it was only a matter of time before the Nerazzurri would get the best out of the one-man advantage.

Still, Inter needed a penalty to draw level. On 70 minutes, Rafael Leao tripped Nicolò Barella in the box and Valeri pointed at the penalty spot after checking the VAR. That’s just what Lukaku needed to release a bit of his tension as he whipped the ball into the top right corner of the goal.

Conte’s boys should have had their second but found an outstanding Ciprian Tatarusanu on their way. The Romanian goalkeeper denied Inter in at least four clear occasions – his save from a Lukaku point-blank range shot was absolutely brilliant.

But Milan’s goalie couldn’t do anything when, from the free kick spot, Christian Eriksen teleported the ball right into the top right corner of the goal to complete Inter’s comeback. It was minute 97, right in the middle of an endless stoppage time period ordered by 4th official Daniele Chiffi – who had replaced Valeri after he picked up an injury.

The former Tottenham man was sent in by Conte, as usual, around minute 88. That’s usually too late to make a difference. But for one night at least, Christian Eriksen was the one credit for the win. It was about time.   

 

MATCH REPORT

January 26, 2021 – Coppa Italia 2020-21 Quarter Finals
INTER-MILAN 2-1

SCORERS: 31′ Ibrahimovic (M), 71′ Lukaku (I, pen.), 97′ Eriksen (I)

INTER (3-5-2): Handanovic; Skriniar, De Vrij, Kolarov (92′ Young); Darmian (46′ Hakimi), Barella, Brozovic (88′ Eriksen), Vidal, Perisic (67′ Lautaro Martinez); Sanchez, Lukaku (Padelli, Radu, Gagliardini, Sensi, Ranocchia, Bastoni, Pinamonti) Coach: Conte
MILAN (4-2-3-1): Tatarusanu; Diogo Dalot, Kjaer (20′ Tomori), Romagnoli, Hernandez; Meité, Kessié; Saelemaekers (85′ Castillejo), Brahim Diaz (60′ Rebic), Rafael Leao (85′ Krunic); Ibrahimovic (A. Donnarumma, Jungdal, Calabria, Hauge, Kalulu, Maldini) Coach: Pioli

REFEREE: Mr. Valeri from Rome (replaced by Mr. Chiffi from Padova)
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Lukaku, Brozovic, Hakimi (I), Kjaer, Rebic (M); Red Card: Ibrahimovic (M); Extra Time: 1st Half 3′, 2nd Half 10′

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