January 11, (THEWILL) – Defending champions Inter are through to the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia but had to survive a scare before eventually beating Serie B side, Parma 2-1 after extra time at San Siro.
Stanko Juric’s ferocious effort towards the end of the first half looked like it was going to be enough for Fabio Pecchia’s team before Lautaro Martinez found the equaliser with Inter’s first shot on target in the 88th minute.
Although Simone Inzaghi, made seven changes to the side that drew 2-2 at Monza on Saturday, with Danilo D’Ambrosio, Robin Gosens and Denzel Dumfries, among those coming in, the 44-year-old Gianluigi Buffon, who started in goal for Parma, had very little to do for the first 87 minutes of the tie into that equaliser but Parma held on that long due to his reflexes.
The Nerazzurri were holding on at times in extra time as well before Francesco Acerbi won it with a fine header and Inter held on to the final whistle to keep their hopes of a consecutive Coppa Italia title alive.
After pushing Inter all the way tonight, Parma will turn its attention back to their Serie B campaign, with promotion at the top of their list of priorities. As for Inter, they will take the experience of the tough result against Parma back to Serie A when they meet Verona on Saturday.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
