Napoli 1-1 Inter (agg 2-1): Dries Mertens fires hosts into Coppa Italia final
Napoli into first Coppa Italia final since their win in 2014 and will play Juventus in the final on June 17 in Rome
Wednesday 17 June 2020 11:53, UK
Dries Mertens fired Napoli into the Coppa Italia final, beating Inter Milan 2-1 on aggregate after a 1-1 draw in the second leg, and became the club's record goalscorer.
Napoli were 1-0 ahead from the first leg at the San Siro three months ago, but their advantage was wiped out barely two minutes in as Christian Eriksen - making his fourth Inter start since his January moved from Tottenham - curled a corner home.
But it was Dries Mertens' (41) slotted finish after a superb break from Lorenzo Insigne that ultimately sealed Napoli's place in Wednesday's final against Juventus, overtaking Marek Hamsik (121) as the club's highest scorer (122) in the process.
InteR will rue their lack of cutting edge, having had the better of the chances throughout.
How Napoli made it past Inter
Within two minutes, Inter hauled themselves level in the tie. A fizzing corner from Eriksen bypassed everyone, shot through the legs of David Ospina and nestled into the far corner.
It was a stop-start first half but Inter saw the lion's share of the chances and should have gone further ahead.
In the 16th minute, an impressive Antonio Candreva could only lift his effort over the bar before linking up with Eriksen 13 minutes later. His cross from the right was headed on by the Dane for Romelu Lukaku, but the striker directed his own nodded effort wide.
Inter soon began to find the target, but were thwarted by a goalkeeper looking for redemption. Just after the half-hour mark, Ashley Young and Lukaku combined, but the Belgian's header was pushed away strongly by Ospina. Not long after, the Colombia international made an incredible reaction save, with Candreva's solo effort being tipped over the bar.
But Napoli punished their visitors' wastefulness and equalised in the 41st minute. Ospina was the instigator as he played the ball out perfectly, setting Insigne away on the counter-attack. He sped down the field with only Eriksen and Young back to defend, before squaring the ball for Mertens who easily swept home past Samir Handanovic.
The second half was a quieter affair although still littered with niggly fouls. Napoli's two frontmen almost linked up for a second nine minutes after the break with Mertens cutting the ball back for his team-mate, but Insigne's attempt to find the far corner instead saw the ball fizz past the far post.
Inter knew they needed another away goal to send them into the final and started to put the pressure on in the final 15 minutes. Substitutes Victor Moses and Alexis Sanchez linked up nicely, but the Chilean's powerful cross-body shot steamed past the far post. Eriksen then tried his luck with another set-piece, but his fierce free-kick drew a strong save from Ospina, who was booked not long after and will now miss Wednesday's final against Juventus.
The visitors went agonisingly close again in the 82nd minute. Lukaku slotted the ball to Cristiano Biraghi down the left flank, who in turn picked out Sanchez in the middle. He then flicked the ball back into the path of Eriksen, but his shot went straight at Ospina, who pushed it away. The danger was not over though as Moses latched onto the rebound, but could only lift his shot well over the face of the goal.
The cheers from the Napoli bench reverberated around the almost empty San Paolo Stadium at full time, reaching their first Coppa Italia final since their 2014 victory, where they will face former manager Maurizio Sarri and his Juventus side on June 17.
Man of the match - Dries Mertens
If Mertens is set to leave Napoli this summer then he is really going out with a bang. His goal was his 122nd for the club, overtaking Hamsik as record goalscorer, and helped Napoli into their first Coppa Italia final in six years in the process.
Not only that, he was a pest for the Inter defence from the start, making those runs you need and his link-up play with Insigne was wonderful. Napoli have let some talented strikers leave in the past and Mertens would be as big of a miss as any of them.
What's next?
Napoli will face Juventus in the Coppa Italia final on June 17 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. They will then return to Serie A action on Tuesday June 23 when they play Verona (kick-off 6.30pm).
For Inter, they return to the league on Sunday June 21, facing Sampdoria (kick-off 8.45pm).
