Milan survive Inter's dominance and celebrate Coppa Italia semifinal draw | OneFootball

In an great derby in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-finals, AC Milan drew 1-1 with Inter and left it up to the second leg on April 23. The winner of this clash will probably face Bologna, who thrashed Empoli 3-0 in the first leg.

The first few minutes were uneventful with Inter dominating possession, but in the 20th minute we finally had the first dangerous shot when Tammy Abraham cleared the ball off the line after De Vrij's shot in the box. Little by little, the spaces opened up for Milan, who squandered considerable chances. In first-half stoppage time, Carlos Augusto found Thuram and the cross reached Frattesi, but his header wasn't enough to prevent a fine save from an involved Maignan.

Right at the start of the second half, Milan opened the scoring with a fine team move down the right involving Reijnders, Alex Jimenez and Fofana, until the ball arrived in the box for Abraham to spin past his marker and hit a right-footed cross. The goal made the game very open, with Inter again dominating possession until they equalized with a spectacular goal. Çalhanoglu consolidated his great performance with a firm shot from outside the area into the corner to beat Maignan.

Towards the end of the match, Inter created more and almost came away with the win with a great chance for Zalewski to consolidate the lead, but Maignan made an excellent save and proved why he is one of the best goalkeepers around with a great performance.

Milan and Inter have reason to celebrate a draw

Inter Milan v AC Milan - Coppa Italia | Anadolu/GettyImages

The draw was definitely better for Milan, who went into the match as underdogs and were in serious danger of conceding during the second half. However, despite regretting the missed chances, Inter were certainly pleased with their ability to react, once again showing up well this season.