Photo by Giuseppe Cottini/Getty Images

lol Starting XIs

Inter?s XI (3-5-2)

Monza?s XI (3-4-2-1)

Inzaghi made five changes from Inter?s UCL quarterfinal against Benfica, bringing Kristjan Asllani, Joaquin Correa, Romelu Lukaku, Robin Gosens, and Stefan de Vrij into the XI. Monza, meanwhile, lined up in Raffaele Palladino?s favored 3-4-2-1 with the all-Italian midfield of Stefano Sensi (who exited with injury after less than half an hour), Matteo Pessina, and Nicolo Rovella pulling the strings.

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First Half
The action got off to an uneventful start, with the ball bouncing back and forth between the teams for much of the opening stages, albeit mainly in Monza?s half of the pitch. Inter eventually eased into control, however, registering the first shot on target of the night in the 24th minute through Correa from inside the box, but Michele Di Gregorio was on hand to deal with the Argentinian?s weak effort. That was the closest Inter came to a goal all half. Despite 11 total shots compared to Monza?s sole effort, the hosts put just one attempt on target. The possession numbers show a more accurate representation of action at 53%-47% in Inter?s favor; the vast majority of which took place in Monza?s half but Inter lacked the creativity and dynamism to ever stress the visiting defense.
Second Half
Monza took on a more protagonistic role to start the...