Lazio survived late pressure to end Inter’s run of nine straight wins on Tuesday and set up a potential Coppa Italia semi-final with capital rivals Roma.
Five changes for Inter from their 3-0 victory over Pescara at the weekend saw Yuto Nagatomo, Gary Medel, Joao Mario, Roberto Gagliardini and captain Mauro Icardi all replaced by Cristian Ansaldi, Jeison Murillo, Geoffrey Kondogbia, Ever Banega and Rodrigo Palacio.
Lazio survived late pressure to end Inter’s run of nine straight wins on Tuesday and set up a potential Coppa Italia semi-final with capital rivals Roma.
Five changes for Inter from their 3-0 victory over Pescara at the weekend saw Yuto Nagatomo, Gary Medel, Joao Mario, Roberto Gagliardini and captain Mauro Icardi all replaced by Cristian Ansaldi, Jeison Murillo, Geoffrey Kondogbia, Ever Banega and Rodrigo Palacio.
Lazio, meanwhile, drafted in Patric and Alessandro Murgia, while bringing back No 1 goalkeeper Federico Marchetti and top goalscorer Ciro Immobile.
The two sides last met little over a month ago in Serie A, when Inter put three past Lazio without reply on December 21, but Felipe Anderson made sure a repeat performance was not forthcoming.
Indeed, the pint-sized Brazilian beat both Nerazzurri centre-backs and glanced a header past Samir Handanovic.
A couple minutes before, however, Inter hit the post through Kondogbia, who clipped Marchetti’s right-hand post with a daisy-cutter.
Anderson’s goal prompted the Beneamata to press extremely high up the pitch for the equaliser, but it exposed them to Aquile counterattacks.
That was proved when Ciro Immobile and Anderson were sent through with only Handanovic to beat, but the former blasted his shot well over, before his teammate was denied one-on-one.
At the other end, Marcelo Brozovic drove a low shot on target in the Lazio box, but it was pushed away by Marchetti.
Staying in the visitors’ area, Inter had two penalty appeals waved away as Wesley Hoedt was adjudged to be just outside when he climbed all over Palacio, while Antonio Candreva was deemed to have lost his footing.
Inter threw on Icardi and Joao Mario for the second half, but their introductions were quickly followed by another huge Lazio miss as Marco Parolo whacked the ball over from a yard out.
It seemed the Aquile couldn’t afford any more misses, until they were gifted a second goal. Murillo played Immobile onside, forcing Miranda to come across as the last man, clip the striker’s heels in the box, concede a penalty and head for an early bath.
Lucas Biglia subsequently served the perfect response to his confrontation with a Lazio ultra at the weekend as he blasted the spot-kick into the centre-right of Handanovic’s net.
Brozovic, meanwhile, could only lash a piledriver into Marchetti's side-netting, before Murillo crashed a header just over Marchetti’s goal.
Yet Inter’s defending continued to hamstring them. Anderson failed to be picked up once more, finding himself in oceans of space down the right, but his shot flew inches wide of Handanovic’s near post.
That seemed to spark the hosts into life, albeit in a case of too little, too late, as Icardi had a diving header tipped around the post by Marchetti.
Lazio then lost a man of their own in Stefan Radu, whose tackle from behind on Icardi saw him pick up a second yellow and join Miranda in making the walk of shame.
Brozovic managed to loop a header over Marchetti from Ivan Perisic’s aerial assist, but the Nerazzurri were unable to find a second goal.
Roma will be Lazio’s opponents in the last four if they can beat Serie B side Cesena on Wednesday.
Inter 1-2 Lazio
Miranda sent off 54, Brozovic 84 (I) Anderson 20, Biglia pen 56, Radu sent off 74 (L)
Inter: Handanovic; D’Ambrosio, Murillo, Miranda, Ansaldi (Medel 58) Brozovic, Kondogbia; Perisic, Banega (Joao Mario 46), Candreva; Palacio (Icardi 46)
Lazio: Marchetti; Patric, De Vrij, Hoedt, Radu; Parolo, Biglia, Murgia (Wallace 78); Anderson (Milinkovic-Savic 74), Immobile, Lulic (Lukaku 75)
Referee: Guida