Pro Sports

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

Posted February 08, 2022 6:00 am

The Associated Press

Inter Milan's Alexis Sanchez, center, celebrates with his teammates his goal against Roma during the Italian Cup soccer match between Inter Milan and Roma at the San Siro stadium, in Milan, Italy, on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni) The Associated Press

MILAN, Italy (AP) - 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: 'œWelcome 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. The team dropped to seventh in the Serie A standings over the weekend after a 0-0 draw at home to struggling Genoa and its hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League are looking slim.

Inter's celebrations were dampened by defender Alessandro Bastoni's injury. He was helped off the field after hurting his right ankle and is now at risk of missing the Champions League round of 16 match against Liverpool next week.

'œWe hope Bastoni doesn't have anything serious, unfortunately you could see he fell badly," Inter coach Simone Inzaghi said. 'œNow the medics will have the tests and we hope not to lose him for too long, as he is a very, very important player for us.'ť

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Roma's head coach Jose Mourinho reacts during the Italian Cup soccer match between Inter Milan and Roma at the San Siro stadium, in Milan, Italy, on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni) The Associated Press

Inter Milan's Edin Dzeko, left, scores against Roma during an Italian Cup soccer match between Inter Milan and Roma at the San Siro stadium, in Milan, Italy, on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni) The Associated Press

Inter Milan's Matteo Darmian and Roma's Nicolo Zaniolo, right, fight for the ball during the Italian Cup soccer match between Inter Milan and Roma at the San Siro stadium, in Milan, Italy, on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni) The Associated Press

Inter Milan's Milan Skriniar, center right, and Roma's Tammy Abraham challenge for the ball during the Italian Cup soccer match between Inter Milan and Roma at the San Siro stadium, in Milan, Italy, on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni) The Associated Press

Inter Milan's Arturo Vidal, left, and Roma's Rick Karsdorp challenge for the ball during the Italian Cup soccer match between Inter Milan and Roma at the San Siro stadium, in Milan, Italy, on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni) The Associated Press

Inter Milan's Danilo D'Ambrosio, front, and Roma's Tammy Abraham vie for the ball during an Italian Cup soccer match between Inter Milan and Roma at the San Siro stadium, in Milan, Italy, on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni) The Associated Press

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