Inter kept alive their dreams of landing a treble after they stormed into the Coppa Italia final with a 2-0 aggregate win over Fiorentina.
Samuel Eto'o fired home a second half goal to give Inter a 1-0 second leg win at Fiorentina to make sure they stayed in the hunt for the Cup, Serie A and Champions League trophies.
Coach Jose Mourinho had taken the rare step of leaving several first-choice players out of his starting XI ahead of Friday's crucial Serie A clash with Juventus and next week's Champions League semi-final first leg against Barcelona.
The Nerazzurri were facing Fiorentina for the second time in three days after being held to a 2-2 draw on Saturday in the league, a result which allowed Roma to snatch top spot in Serie A with only five games left.
On Tuesday, Inter created several chances early on with Mario Balotelli hitting wide from a good position after pinching possession.
However, they also wobbled at the back, with Lucio clearing off the line and Cristian Chivu conjuring a desperate challenge to deny Alberto Gilardino.
The visitors subdued the tempo in the second half after delaying the restart by around five minutes by emerging from their dressing room late.
Balotelli forced a finger-tip save from Sebastien Frey with a long-distance strike before Cameroon forward Eto'o sprinted on to Thiago Motta's pass to spring the hosts' offside trap and slammed it home on the hour mark.
Eto'o's goal effectively ended the contest, leaving the Viola needing to score three times to go through.
Inter will meet the winner of the other semi between Roma and Udinese, with the Romans carrying a 2-0 lead to next week's second leg.
Semi-Final First Leg Results
Wednesday 3 February 2010
Inter 1-0 Fiorentina
Thursday 4 February 2010
Roma 2-0 Udinese
Semi-Final Second Leg Result/Fixture
Tuesday 13 April 2010
Fiorentina 0-1 Inter (Agg: 0-2)
Wednesday 21 April 2010
Udinese v Roma (1700)
Final (in Rome)
Wednesday 5 May 2010
Inter v Roma/Udinese
* All kick-off times listed are UK time (+1 for Italy/CET). Times, dates and fixtures are subject to change.
Coppa Italia Semi-Final Second Leg Reviews
[13 Apr 2010] - [21 Apr 2010]
Source: Reuters
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