Inter Cruise Past Udinese to Set Up Coppa Italia Clash with Lazio

Inter Milan comfortably dispatched Udinese 2-0 in their Coppa Italia Round of 16 tie on Thursday evening. Goals from Marko Arnautovic and Kristjan Asllani were enough to send the Nerazzurri through to a quarter-final meeting with Lazio.

Manager Simone Inzaghi heavily rotated his squad, making nine changes from Monday’s 6-0 thrashing of Lazio. Udinese also fielded a much-changed lineup, handing Alexis Sanchez his first start since rejoining the club after 13 years away.

Inter took the lead on 30 minutes when Mehdi Taremi pounced on a Udinese mistake and fed Arnautovic, who finished coolly into the bottom corner. The home side doubled their advantage in first-half stoppage time as Asllani scored directly from a corner after Udinese’s defense switched off.

The second half saw Inter maintain control without extending their lead further. Taremi struck the post while substitute Lautaro Martinez missed a golden chance from close range, though he was flagged offside anyway.

In the end, a professional 2-0 victory was enough to see Inter advance to the last eight, where they will face Lazio in March for a place in the semi-finals. The result keeps Inter’s hopes of adding the Coppa Italia to their trophy cabinet this season very much alive.