Inter Milan's Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen (centre) shoots on goal during the Italian Cup round of 8 football match against Fiorentina at the San Siro stadium in Milan January 29, 2020. — AFP pic
MILAN, Jan 30 — New signing Christian Eriksen enjoyed a memorable debut as Inter Milan defeated Fiorentina 2-1 yesterday to reach the Italian Cup semi-finals.
After three successive draws in Serie A, Antonio Conte’s Inter were far from their best but still had enough to set up a last-four clash against Napoli.
The othert semi-final sees Juventus tackle AC Milan.
In a poor first half, Inter edged ahead just before the break when Antonio Candreva scored from close range after a pass from Lautaro Martinez who had made the most of a mix-up between Fiorentina’s Federico Ceccherini and goalkeeper Pietro Terracciano.
Martin Caceres headed the visitors level on the hour before Nicolo Barella settled the tie with a blistering volley seven minutes later.
Danish star Eriksen, signed on Tuesday from Tottenham for €22 million (RM99 million), was brought on as a substitute for Alexis Sanchez just before Barella’s strike.
Fellow new recruit Victor Moses, signed on loan from Chelsea, also made a second half appearance.
AC Milan booked their place in the two-legged semi-finals after beating Torino 4-2 on Tuesday to continue their Zlatan Ibrahimovic-inspired revival.
Extra-time goals from substitutes Hakan Calhanoglu and Zlatan Ibrahimovic sealed passage into the last-four.
They will be relishing the tie with Italian champions Juventus, who thumped Roma 3-0 in their quarter-final.
Napoli defeated Lazio 1-0 in their quarter-final last week. — AFP
