French night in Inter’s burst of fire at the Meazza

No surprises. All the favorites are progressing according to plan. Some are doing it with control, some with a bit of wobble, and some as if they’re on cruise control. After Juventus, Atalanta, and Napoli, Inter have now reached the Coppa Italia quarterfinals. The quickest and most convincing of all the participants in this stage so far, sweeping aside Venezia as if it were a summer friendly rather than an official match — 5–1.

Coach Cristian Chivu acted as if it were a training exercise instead of a battle for a place among the final eight. He left out stars like Lautaro Martinez, Nicolo Barella, Federico Dimarco, veterans such as Hakan Calhanoglu and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, while center-backs Francesco Acerbi, Manuel Akanji, and Alessandro Bastoni were also given a rest.

Practically all first-team regulars started on the bench, and backup players received their chance. And — they grabbed it. It would be pretentious to jump to the conclusion that they deserve a bigger role under the Romanian coach, because across from them was, after all, a Serie B side.

On the other hand, the match at San Siro will be remembered in particular by two forwards who scored goals worthy of “inking themselves” into this season of the Milanese giant.

Summer arrival from Lens, Andy Diouf, got the chance to start a match after only 54 minutes in a Nerazzurri shirt. He immediately scored. His first in his new environment.

Right after him, Francesco Pio Esposito found the net as well. The young striker, who has already earned a spot with the national team, had previously scored in Belgium against Union and against Cagliari in Sardinia, but everyone was waiting for him to deliver at home. And it happened. He fired an arrow from distance, and Inter had practically finished the job after just 20 minutes.

The center-forward from the “2005 class” did something no other Inter player has done this season: he scored in every competition, because the Club World Cup and international matches count toward the current season, as if the previous one had been wrapped up. In short, Pio scored against River Plate in Seattle this summer, then against Union, Cagliari, and now Venezia. While on loan at Spezia, he had already scored against the same opponent in May 2024.

That put the nine-time Coppa Italia champions well on their way. The scoreline was padded later by Marcus Thuram, the first of his two goals celebrated with a sprint toward the bench to share the moment with Dimarco, while in the second half his compatriot Bonny also found the net after replacing Thuram. That brought the tally to an interesting fact: of Inter’s five goals, four were scored by Frenchmen.

Inter spent minimal energy and sharpened their finishing touch ahead of the dangerous Como coming to the same stadium this weekend, then the closing stretch of the Champions League (Liverpool, Arsenal, Borussia). In the Coppa Italia quarterfinals they will face the winner of Roma vs Torino.

ITALIAN CUP - COPPA ITALIA

Round of 16

Tuesday

Juventus - Udinese 2-0 (1-0)

/David 23, Locatelli 68 pen/

Wednesday

Atalanta - Genoa 4-0 (1-0)

/Djimsiti 19, De Roon 54, Pasalic 82, Ahanor 90+1/

Napoli - Cagliari 9-8 on pen (1-1)

/Lucca 28 - Esposito Se. 67/

Inter - Venezia 5-1 (3-0)

/Diouf 18, Esposito 20, Thuram 34, 51, Bonny 75/

Thursday

20.00: (1.50) Bologna (4.00) Parma (7.25)

23.00: (3.30) Lazio (3.30) Milan (2.25)

***odds are subject to change***