Honours even after drab Coppa Italia semi-final first leg between AC and Inter Milan

AC Milan and Inter played out a drab goalless draw in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final. It was a match where the highlight came before the first whistle, as Milan legend Andrei Shevchenko gave an emotional address on the big screen in the ground asking for support in stopping the war in Ukraine. Ad/> There was little memorable about the match itself, Milan coming the closest to scoring in the first half when Alexis Saelemaekers had most of the goal to aim at but saw his shot parried by Samir Handanovic.

Serie AInter trail Milan after goalless draw at Genoa25/02/2022 AT 19:26 At the other end, Alessio Romagnoli bravely put his head in the way of Dzeko nodding home, clearing the ball but resulting in a knock to him which saw him leave the field. It is a long wait for the second leg which will be played on April 20. TALKING POINT A lack of jeopardy — England is fortunate to have a tradition of neutral ground semi-finals, though obviously this fixture would have to be played in the same arena regardless.

Still, a first leg, fully seven weeks before the second does feel like it contributed to the lack of excitement on display. While both sides were committed for the first half, their true (and very understandable) priority of chasing the Scudetto was shown when star players were taken off midway through the second. The contrast between the memorable Derby della Madonnina last month and this match could not have been more stark.

MAN OF THE MATCH Rafael Leao (AC Milan) — There was a moment in the first half which you hope would be instructive to him. He was in full flight and rather than continue running towards goal, he looked for a foul from Marcelo Brozovic. He probably should have been given a free kick but the