Coppa Italia: Milan Derby ends in 1-1

Milan derby in the Coppa Italia semifinals ended in a 1-1 as both sides tried to outrun the other to qualify for the final of the tournament.

Tammy Abraham put the Rossonerri ahead two minutes after the restart before Hakan Calhanoglu restored parity with a bullet of a short, making the competition remain in perfect balance after the first leg.

Milan have a better record against Inter as this was the fourth Derby della Madonnina of the season after a pair of Rossoneri wins.

Milan recorded a Supercoppa Italiana comeback to lift the trophy in January. There was also a last-gasp Inter equalizer in February. The second leg of the action resumes on April 23, with the winner facing either Bologna or Empoli.

In a game of top quality, there were few chances as Josep Martinez’s foot was able to make a tough save on  Rafael Leao’s shot.

After pushing a ferocious long-range Hakan Calhanoglu free kick out from under the crossbar, Maignan nade his toughest save was on the stroke of halftime from a Davide Frattesi header into the ground.

Straight after the restart, Milan broke the deadlock through Abraham who loves scoring against Inter.

 Alex Jimenez rolled across for Youssouf Fofana, and a lucky ricochet turned into an assist for Abraham, who pounced to smash in the angled drive from eight yards.

Nicolò Barella almost equalized as he responded with a curler that Maignan palmed away.

 Inter eventually made their pressure count as they equalised when Calhanoglu’s first-time low strike squirmed under Maignan’s ribs from the edge of the D on a Correa lay-off.

This turned the momentum of the match toward inter as Maignan had to make two big saves in quick succession.

He made another fantastic fingertip save to push the Henrikh Mkhitaryan strike out of the near top corner on Thuram’s assist, while Leao saw his curler skim the far post on the counter-attack.

Bologna had trashed Empoli 3-0 in the other semifinals as they prepared for their first final in over five decades.