Inter Milan's Edin Dzeko (in black) scores the opening goal during the Coppa Italia match against AS Roma at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in Milan on Tuesday.
Highlights
- Mourinho received a warm welcome from fans, who deployed a banner that read: "Welcome back home."
- Dzeko provided perfect start to Inter with a goal from first attack in 2nd minute
- Sanchez doubled Inter's lead in the 68th minute with a long-range strike into the top left corner
A pair of brilliant goals from Edin Dzeko and Alexis Sanchez ruined Jose Mourinho's return to his former club as Inter Milan beat Roma 2-0 to reach the Coppa Italia (Italian Cup) semifinals.
The match marked the first time Mourinho faced Inter at San Siro since he left after leading the club to the Serie A-Italian Cup-Champions League treble in 2010.
Mourinho received a warm welcome from the fans, who deployed a banner that read: "Welcome back home, Jose."
Roma players did not receive the same friendly treatment. Inter got off a perfect start to open the scoring on their first move.
Facing his former team, Dzeko connected with a cross from the edge of the box from Ivan Perisic and beat Roma goalkeeper Rui Patricio with a right-footed volley after only two minutes.
Roma's sluggish defence looked more solid as the game progressed but Mourinho's team was too clumsy up front and failed to convert their rare occasions against the Serie A leader.
Sanchez doubled Inter's lead in the 68th minute with a superb long-range strike into the top left corner that Patricio could not touch and left Mourinho ruminating.
Under Mourinho, Roma is having an inconsistent season. The team dropped to seventh in the Serie A standings over the weekend after a 0-0 draw at home to struggling Genoa and its hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League are looking slim.
Inter's celebrations were dampened by defender Alessandro Bastoni's injury. He was helped off the field after hurting his right ankle and is now at risk of missing the Champions League round of 16 match against Liverpool next week.
"We hope Bastoni doesn't have anything serious, unfortunately, you could see he fell badly," Inter coach Simone Inzaghi said. "Now the medics will have the tests and we hope not to lose him for too long, as he is a very, very important player for us."
(Reported by AP)
