Inter beats Roma 2-0 in Cup, spoils Mourinho’s return

MILAN, Italy: A pair of brilliant goals from Edin Dzeko and Alexis Sanchez ruined Jose Mourinho’s return to his former club Tuesday as Inter Milan beat Roma 2-0 to reach the Italian Cup semifinals. The match marked the first time Mourinho faced Inter at San Siro since he left after leading the club to the Serie A-Italian Cup-Champions League treble in 2010.

Mourinho received a warm welcome from the fans, who deployed a banner that read: “Welcome back home, Jose.” Roma players did not receive the same friendly treatment. Inter got off a perfect start to open the scoring on its first move.

Facing his former team, Dzeko connected with a cross from the edge of the box from Ivan Perisic and beat Roma goalkeeper Rui Patricio with a right-footed volley after only two minutes. Roma’s sluggish defense looked more solid as the game progressed, but Mourinho’s team was too clumsy up front and failed to convert its rare occasions against the Serie A leader.

Sanchez doubled Inter’s lead in the 68th minute with a superb long-range strike into the top left corner that Patricio could not touch and left Mourinho ruminating. Under Mourinho, Roma is having an inconsistent season.