AC Milan secured a brilliant 3-0 win over Inter on Tuesday night to advance to the Coppa Italia final after a 4-1 triumph on aggregate.
The Rossoneri were under pressure through the first half, but Luka Jovic struck either side of the break to put us in a commanding position.
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Although Inter continued to push for a way back into the game, we produced a strong defensive display to keep them at bay, before Tijjani Reijnders wrapped up the superb win in the latter stages to ensure we advance.
Given our struggles this season, this was a much-needed boost for all concerned, and it’s hoped that we can go on and lift the trophy, which in turn would give us an alternative route to qualify for Europe next season.
AC Milan player ratings vs Inter:
Mike Maignan, 7 – Great distribution and commanded his box well, while he made some important saves as we kept Inter out with a solid foundation at the back.
Fikayo Tomori, 7 – Used his physicality well and produced a disciplined display as part of an organised defensive performance. Energetic and fully committed.
Matteo Gabbia, 7 – Marshalled the back-three really effectively throughout, showing his leadership ability and defensive strengths. Kept Inter’s frontmen relatively quiet before picking up an unfortunate injury setback. Hopefully it’s nothing serious.
Strahinja Pavlovic, 7 – Caught out at times but he made important interventions when needed and contributed to our positive defensive shift to keep a clean sheet.
Alex Jimenez, 7 – Showed great tenacity and desire to win his duel and play an important defensive role, while it was his cross into the box that found Jovic for our opening goal. Solid shift.
Youssouf Fofana, 7 – Used his physicality and agility so well to regain possession and break Inter’s play up, particularly when they were building pressure. Such an import presence in the heart of our midfield.
Tijjani Reijnders, 7.5 – Another tireless and tenacious display as he worked hard to give us a foothold and to pose a threat in transition. Got his reward in the end as he produced a clinical finish to wrap up the win.
Theo Hernandez, 7 – A positive performance as although he wasn’t decisive, he was diligent and committed to the task he had defensively, and provided us with width to stretch the pitch and create space inside for others.
Christian Pulisic, 6 – Work-rate was important from a defensive perspective to help his teammates deal with Inter’s threat going forward, but couldn’t offer much going the other way as perhaps fatigue was setting in given his defensive duties.
Luka Jovic, 8 – Brilliant display as aside from the top finish for his first and to have the instincts to be in the ideal position to bag his second, he gave us a focal point up front to lead the line and hold up play to bring others in effectively. What an impact on a night when most didn’t expect him to start.
Rafael Leao, 7 – His threat became more prominent in the second, which in turn resulted in the assist for Reijnders. Struggled to make the difference prior to that with Inter doubling up on him and making it difficult, and although he couldn’t have a bigger say on the game, he played his part in the win.
Substitutes:
Malick Thiaw, 6.5 – Did his job really well to help us see out the win having come on in difficult circumstances after Gabbia’s injury.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek, N/A
Tammy Abraham, N/A
Joao Felix, N/A
Davide Bartesaghi, N/A
