Sanchez fires Inter past Mourinho's Roma

Roma manager Jose Mourinho has received a hero's welcome at San Siro in his first game as an opposing coach at his former club but it was Inter Milan that advanced to the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia.

Alexis Sanchez's wonderful strike helped Inter seal a 2-0 home success in their quarter-final.

Edin Dzeko opened the scoring against his former club with a neat volley inside the first two minutes at San Siro.

Then, Sanchez doubled the advantage midway through the second half with a magnificent effort from 25 yards.

It was enough to give Simone Inzaghi's side a fourth victory in five meetings over their opponents at this stage of the competition.

It was an emotional night for Mourinho, who led Inter to back-to-back Serie A titles and an unprecedented treble during two seasons between 2008 and 2010, as the home fans sang his name and unveiled a banner which read: "Welcome home Jose".

The third-highest scorer in Roma's history behind Francesco Totti (307) and Roberto Pruzzo (138), Dzeko scored 119 goals in 260 appearances for the Giallorossi in all competitions between 2015 and 2021.

The Bosnia international came back to haunt his former employers after just two minutes, volleying home brilliantly from Ivan Perisic's inviting cross.

Inter went close to doubling their lead when Nicolo Barella rattled the crossbar from distance, while Dzeko and Milan Skriniar saw headers saved by Rui Patricio.

At the other end, Samir Handanovic sprung into action with superb reflexes to deny Nicolo Zaniolo from the visitors' first attack.

The hosts lost Alessandro Bastoni to injury just before halftime.

Along with Inzaghi and Lautaro Martinez, the defender faced disciplinary action earlier in the day for his conduct during the derby defeat