Inter and Milan draw 1-1 in first leg of Italian Cup semifinals

Inter Milan`s players celebrate at the end of the Italian Cup semi-final first leg football match between AC Milan and Inter Milan at San Siro stadium in Milan. Pic/AFP

Inter Milan's chances of a treble remain alive, as do AC Milan's hopes of sneaking into Europe after the city rivals drew 1-1 in the first leg of their Italian Cup semifinal on Wednesday. Hakan Çalhanoglu thumped in the equalizer against his former club in the 67th minute after Milan forward Tammy Abraham had netted the opener less than two minutes into the second half. Bologna beat Empoli 3-0 on Tuesday in the other semifinal.

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The return legs are scheduled for April 23-24. Inter is on the hunt to repeat a treble haul of trophies it achieved in 2010 under Jose Mourinho. It has a three-point advantage over second-placed Napoli in Serie A where it is the defending champion and visits Bayern Munich on Tuesday in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal. Milan has struggled of late and just two wins in its past six league matches has seen it slip to ninth in Serie A. Winning the Italian Cup guarantees a Europa League spot.

However, the Rossoneri took the lead right at the start of the second half. Inter midfielder Davide Frattesi tried to challenge Youssouf Fofana on the edge of the area but the ball came through to Abraham, who lived up to his reputation as a big game goalscorer with an angled strike into the bottom left corner. But Çalhanoglu levelled 20 minutes later with a powerful 20-yard effort that squirmed under Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan.

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