Inter Milan have finally ended their hoodoo when it comes to Coppa Italia games, and they needed Lautaro Martínez to be the man in charge to lead them to one more final in this competition.
The South American striker scored two goals during the first half of the Coppa Italia semi-final against Milan to steer the nerazzurri past their bitter rivals in the tournament. These goals were followed up by a last-minute effort by Robin Gosens, who ended Milan's hopes to come back after VAR denied them from a potential goal due to a dubious offside.
Even with Gosens -and the ref- stealing some of Martínez's thunder, his goals during the first half were enough reason to keep him as the man of the match. His first strike came after a right-flank cross by Matteo Darmian found the top of his right foot and flew past Mike Maignan's effort to keep the ball out. That was Lautaro's 17th goal of the season across all comps and came in handy to put Inter in the driver's seat. Have a look at his finish by scrolling down (Image might be geo-restricted).
It's advantage Inter in the Coppa Italia semifinal edition of the Milan derby. Lautaro Martinez kicks off the second leg with an early strike
— SI Soccer (@si_soccer) April 19, 2022
(via @CBSSportsGolazo) pic.twitter.com/ceoynAMMEk
If that was not enough reason to see Lautaro as Inter's driving force, his second effort was the cherry on top of a perfect first half. A delightful finish over Maignan gave Inter a comfortable lead right before the break and practically ended Milan's hopes. Here is his second goal of the evening (Image might be geo-restricted).
LAUTARO MARTINEZ GETS HIS FIRST HALF BRACE pic.twitter.com/NwuklVDI1i
— CBS Sports Golazo (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 19, 2022
Now, Inter will wait for Juventus or Fiorentina to play the Coppa Italia final. The last time they won this title, they were also capable of winning the Serie A crown. Will that be the case this year?