The Coppa Italia semi-final clash between Inter Milan and Juventus ended in a brawl that resulted in red cards for Romelu Lukaku, Juan Cuadrado, and Samir Handanovic.
Juan Cuadrado had given the hosts the lead seven minutes from regulation time, only for Inter to cancel it out with a last-gasp Romelu Lukaku penalty.
The second leg will be played at San Siro on April 26. Since the away goals rule no longer applies from this season, it remains anyone’s game to take.
This is also the only round in the tournament to be played home and away.
Although Inter had lost their Serie A meeting with Juve last month, the Nerazurri won the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana Finals from the previous season in extra time.
The Turin club got the first chance in the opening minutes when Angel Di Maria beat Inter defenders but was stopped from scoring by Samir Handanovic, who got down quickly to fingertip the angled drive around the base of the far post.
Mattia Perin was untroubled by a Federico Dimarco free kick, and Edin Dzeko’s finish was far too weak.
Inter got their first real chance in 33 minutes when Dzeko, with his back to the goal, managed to lay it off for Marcelo Brozovic, but Perin used his legs to parry the first-time strike.
Inter then had a double chance on the stroke of half-time as Dimarco’s first touch was heavy, giving Gleison Bremer a chance to slide across and make the block. The resulting corner sees Danilo D’Ambrosio nod over the bar.
Attacking action resumed after the restart with Vlahovic’s diving header going over from a Nicolò Fagioli assist, while Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s daisy-cutter skimmed the far post.
Arkadiusz Milik almost scored immediately after he came off the bench. His full stretch redirected a wayward Juan Cuadrado strike but could only deflect it inches wide.
Juventus eventually went in front through the Colombian. With acres of space at his mercy, after Adrien Rabiot’s cross was flicked on for him, he kept his cool against Handanovic, who tried rushing off his line to narrow the angle to score his sixth career goal against Inter.
Inter would get a lifeline via the penalty spot with 20 seconds left of stoppages as Bremer miss-timed his defensive header with an outstretched arm that caught the Denzel Dumfries.
The referee pointed to the penalty spot, and the lanky Belgium striker converted with admirable calm, sending Perin the wrong way.
Lukaku, who was highly agitated, shouted at the Juventus fans behind the goal. He seemed to make the referee give him a second yellow card, having initially been booked for scything down Federico Gatti.
There was a brawl after the final whistle. Handanovic had to be held back from attacking Cuadrado after a brief conversation. This led to both of them being given red cards.
Written by Oladipupo Mojeed
