AC Milan Beats Inter 3-0 to Reach Italian Cup Final

AC Milan hasn’t had much success in Serie A this season. But things are different when it comes to their city rivals, Inter Milan.

On Wednesday night, Milan defeated Inter 3-0 in the Italian Cup semifinal with help from two goals by Luka Jović. This is Milan’s third win over Inter this season. They had also beaten Inter in the Italian Super Cup final back in January.

“Our league performance hasn’t been great, so we had to show our quality and character today. We did that — and now we’re going to Rome,” Jović said after the match.

This could be Milan coach Sergio Conceição’s last chance to keep his job by winning a trophy. The club, which has won the European title seven times, is currently 9th in the Serie A table.

Winning the Italian Cup is now Milan’s best chance to qualify for European competitions next season. The first leg of the two-leg semifinal had ended 1-1, but Milan won 4-1 on aggregate.

In the other semifinal, Bologna leads Empoli 3-0 going into Thursday’s second leg. The final will be held in Rome on May 14.

Inter started the match strong, with Federico Dimarco hitting the post in the 23rd minute. But then Jović took control of the game — scoring a powerful header in the 36th minute and a close-range goal just before halftime.

In the 85th minute, Tijjani Reijnders finished off a beautiful team passing move to score Milan’s third goal. “We believe in ourselves. Serie A has been tough, but we know this is the shortest path to Europe. If we play like we did today, we can win the title,” Reijnders said.

This is Inter’s second loss in a row. They had also lost 1-0 to Bologna in Serie A on Sunday. Inter’s next big challenge will be against Barcelona in the Champions League semifinal.