Como and Inter play out cagey first leg to keep Coppa Italia semi finely poised

[p]Making their first appearance in the last four of the Coppa Italia since 1986, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/comotto-christian/ldL8p8yF/"]Como[/a] were looking to take advantage of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/inter/Iw7eKK25/"]Inter[/a]’s recent fragility in cup competitions, with the Nerazzurri knocked out of the UEFA Champions League after losing both legs of their play-off tie against unfancied [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bodo-glimt/S0WZMUNG/"]Bodo/Glimt[/a].[/p][p]And in the first half, the hosts were the dominant side, enjoying the lion’s share of possession and using it to keep their opponents running almost throughout.[/p][p]However, they had to wait until the 42nd minute for their first real chance when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vojvoda-mergim/YirekWMs/"]Mergim Vojvoda[/a] - by far the most threatening player before the break from either side - beat a couple of Inter players before curling beyond the far post with the outside of his boot.[/p][p]Inter are runaway Serie A (SA) leaders, and it seems inevitable they will get their hands on the Scudetto this term, but they were total passengers prior to the interval here - they had managed just one shot, and none on target, by the time the whistle blew.[/p][image alt="Como - Inter match stats" id="fd7c9243-61d1-46bb-995d-b1f6e60a0c8c" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="667a1fea-822b-42cf-b57f-669ef9c35d9c" original-width="1200" original-height="1200" /][p]Within five minutes of the restart, Como wasted a gilt-edged chance to put themselves in front. Hrvoje Smolcic got himself down to the byline and whipped a cross towards the near post, where the unmarked [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/valle-gomez-alex/tjU5LW2F/"]Alex Valle[/a] was seemingly waiting to tap the ball home.[/p][p]However, the Spaniard got his connection all wrong, and Inter goalkeeper [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/martinez-josep/n5XVsSqd/"]Josep Martinez[/a] breathed a huge sigh of relief as the ball bounced wide. [/p][p]Inter, for their part, were slightly more adventurous and made several second-half substitutions, but they still created far too little to cause Como any problems - remarkably, Christian Chivu’s men failed to work [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/butez-jean/QHLJe7td/"]Jean Butez[/a] between the home sticks even once during this cagey affair.[/p][p]Overall, this seemed to be a game in which neither side wanted to give anything away ahead of the second leg towards the end of April. [/p][p]Before then, both teams will continue with their Serie A objectives - while Inter are 10 points clear at the summit, Como are just three points adrift of the top four and therefore a maiden appearance in the Champions League.[/p][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/diego-carlos/lrFXrN1U/"]Diego Carlos[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/como/ttyLthOA/"]Como[/a])[/b][/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/como-ttyLthOA/inter-Iw7eKK25/?mid=WAWxYcj4"]Check out all the match stats here[/a][/b][/p]