Coppa Italia | Milan 1-1 Inter: Calhanoglu replies to Abraham for perfect balance

The Coppa Italia semi-final remains in perfect balance after the first leg, as Hakan Calhanoglu’s long-range strike cancelled out the Tammy Abraham opener, Inter holding Milan 1-1.

This was the fourth Derby della Madonnina of the season after a pair of Rossoneri wins, including the Supercoppa Italiana comeback to lift the trophy in January, and a last-gasp Inter equaliser in February. The second leg will be on April 23, with the winner facing either Bologna or Empoli.

See how it unfolded on the Liveblog.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Emerson Royal were still out of action, with Yunus Musah suffering from flu symptoms, but Rafael Leao returned to the starting XI after he was dropped against Napoli. Lautaro Martinez, Mehdi Taremi and Denzel Dumfries were injured, with Kristjan Asllani suspended.

Tucu Correa tested Mike Maignan on a corner kick routine, while Tammy Abraham cleared a Stefan de Vrij header off the line from another set play.

Rafael Leao forced a tough save with Josep Martinez’s foot at the near post, then the Inter goalkeeper rushed off his line to clear from Abraham on a Tijjani Reijnders through ball.

Maignan pushed a ferocious long-range Hakan Calhanoglu free kick out from under the crossbar, but his toughest save was on the stroke of half-time from a Davide Frattesi header into the ground.

epa12005993 AC Milan’s forward Tammy Abraham celebrates scoring the opening goal during the Italian Cup semi final first leg soccer match between AC Milan and Inter Milan at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium in Milan, Italy, 02 April 2025. EPA-EFE/DANIEL DAL ZENNARO

It was Milan who broke the deadlock straight after the restart, as after a long spell of possession, Alex Jimenez rolled across for Youssouf Fofana, a lucky ricochet turned into an assist for Abraham, who pounced to smash in the angled drive from eight yards.

Tammy Abraham loves scoring big goals for Milan, and they don’t get much bigger than that! 🔥

The Rossoneri take the lead in the derby 🔴⚫ pic.twitter.com/5PGAvy8FTz

— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) April 2, 2025

Nicolò Barella responded with a curler that Maignan palmed away, but Inter did equalise when Calhanoglu’s first-time low strike squirmed under Maignan’s ribs from the edge of the D on a Correa lay-off.

Hakan Çalhanoğlu rifles one into the bottom corner against his former club! 💥

Inter are back on level terms 🔵⚫ pic.twitter.com/NZSKzEtGTT

— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) April 2, 2025

This turned the momentum of the match, as Maignan had to make two big saves in quick succession, first after Marcus Thuram spun away from Malick Thiaw down the right, then on Nicola Zalewski at the back post when Kyle Walker had shinned a clearance.

Maignan was again called into action with a fantastic fingertip save to push the Henrikh Mkhitaryan strike out of the near top corner on Thuram’s assist, while Leao saw his curler skim the far post on the counter-attack.