Patrick Cutrone’s overtime goal gave AC Milan a 1-0 victory over Inter Milan in the quarterfinals of the Coppa Italia.
It was the ninth goal of the season for the 19-year-old Cutrone, the club’s leading scorer, while Suso Fernandez Saez picked up his eight assist of the campaign here on Wednesday, reports Efe.
The derby win in front of 50,000 at the San Siro was a much-needed boost for AC Milan, who sit 11th in the Serie A table, 16 points behind third-place Inter.
Milan coach Gennaro Gattuso said beforehand that his side were treating the match like a World Cup final.
The Rossoneri generated the first scoring a chance, a Giacomo Bonaventura header in the 18th minute that Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic stopped.
Inter thought they had taken the lead in the 24th minute when Milan keeper Antonio Donnarumma – playing in lieu of injured brother Gianluigi – mishandled a shot by Ivan Perisic and the ball landed in the net.
But after consulting the video replay, the referee disallowed the goal for an offside infraction.
The sides traded chances in the second half. Joao Mario kicked the ball straight at Donnarumma after taking a perfect cross from Mauro Icardi, while Milan’s Giacomo Bonaventura fired over the cross-fire after a poor clearance by Handanovic.
Milan racheted up the pressure in the final minutes of regulation and carried that intensity over into extra time.
In the 105th minute Suso beat defender Yuto Nagatomo and delivered a perfect ball to Cutrone in the area.
AC Milan will face Lazio, the winners on Tuesday over Fiorentina, in a two-leg semifinal.