Calhanoglu double and a Sucic winner drag Inter back from 2-0 down to reach the Coppa Italia final
For an hour at the San Siro on Tuesday, a Coppa Italia final looked like something that was slipping away from Inter. Como had already done the hard part in the first leg, holding Inter to a goalless draw at the Sinigaglia, and they turned up in Milan not just to defend a lead they did not have but to go and win the tie outright. For a long while they were doing exactly that.
Martin Baturina put Como in front in the 32nd minute. Lucas Da Cunha, the captain, doubled the lead three minutes into the second half. At 2-0 on aggregate Inter needed three goals in just over 40 minutes against a side defending deep and playing with the confidence of a team that believed the upset was actually on.
Calhanoglu wakes the tie up
The rescue began in the 69th minute and it came from the one player Inter have leaned on hardest all season. Hakan Calhanoglu pulled the ball onto his favoured left foot on the edge of the box and pinged a drive beyond Como keeper Jean Butez. The San Siro, which had spent half an hour quiet, suddenly had something to work with.
The equaliser arrived in the 86th. Calhanoglu met a cross inside the six-yard box with his head, his first headed goal for the club, to make it 2-2 and send the tie towards extra time. Three minutes later he had the finishing act too, this time as the architect. He slid a ball across to Petar Sucic, who had set up the first two, and Sucic picked out the bottom-right corner from the edge of the area.
Three goals involved, one player
Calhanoglu finished the night involved in all three Inter goals, the first time he has done that in any competition for the club. He scored two and assisted the third, and afterwards made no effort to talk the ambition down. Inter are leading Napoli by 12 points in Serie A and now have a Coppa Italia final locked in, and Calhanoglu said the message in the dressing room is now simply that this squad wants to win everything still on offer.
Final on May 13
Cristian Chivu's side are through to the final on May 13. Their opponent will come from the other semi-final between Atalanta and Lazio, with the second leg played at Bergamo on Wednesday night after a 2-2 draw at the Stadio Olimpico in the first leg. For Como, managed by Cesc Fabregas and still finding their feet in Serie A, the night ends with a reminder that they are capable of taking the big sides to the edge. The problem is that Inter still tend to find a way back.
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