April 21, (THEWILL) — Substitute Petar Sucic produced a match-winning performance off the bench to send Inter Milan into the Coppa Italia final with a 3-2 victory over Como at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on Tuesday, completing one of the more dramatic comebacks of the season.
Como had looked firmly on course for their first appearance in the competition’s final. Martin Baturina swept home from a right-flank cross in the 32nd minute, before captain Lucas da Cunha curled beyond the goalkeeper three minutes into the second half after running on to a clever ball from Nico Paz.
Inter’s revival began through Hakan Calhanoglu, who struck from the edge of the area, with his effort deflecting off Diego Carlos before finding the net.
Goalkeeper Josep Martinez had already kept his side in contention with a sharp stop to deny Assane Diao, a save that would prove decisive.
Sucic, brought on for Piotr Zielinski on the hour, then made his influence felt on both ends of the scoreline.
His delivery four minutes from time was headed home off the post by Calhanoglu, before the Croatian took a touch and steered into the bottom-right corner in the 89th minute to complete the turnaround.
Cristian Chivu’s nine-time champions will face either Atalanta or Lazio in the final, having recovered from what appeared to be an insurmountable position to advance in extraordinary circumstances.
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.
