Darmian: ‘Inter showed respect to Como, look at 180 minutes’

Matteo Darmian confirms Inter ‘showed respect to Como’ with their tactical changes in the Coppa Italia semi-final first leg. ‘These ties are played over 180 minutes.’

It was a very evenly-balanced match at the Stadio Sinigaglia on the shores of Lake Como, as the two coaches seemed to cancel each other out with tactical tweaks.

The hosts opted for Nico Paz as a False 9, while the Nerazzurri unusually also had only a single centre-forward, moving Andy Diouf into a more advanced support role.

The best chance for Inter fell to Darmian, whose cross-shot clipped the outside of the near post at the dawn of the second half.

Darmian content with Inter stalemate

“We knew Como’s strengths, the way they hold the ball and can play out from the press, but we had the right attitude,” Darmian told Sport Mediaset.

“We might’ve preferred to bring home a victory, but we have a very important game coming up on Sunday, and then we’ll prepare for the second leg when it comes.”

The Coppa Italia semi-final will go to the second leg at San Siro, which is going to be scheduled for April 21 or 22, to see who goes on to face either Lazio or Atalanta in the Final.

Before that, Inter have the Serie A showdown with rivals Milan on Sunday, in the Derby della Madonnina.

“The important thing was keeping a clean sheet today, we try to do our best both attacking and defending every week. It was good to not concede ahead of the second leg,” added Darmian.

“We showed respect to Como, we knew that these ties are played over 180 minutes, and it was important to leave here with a positive result. When you wear the Inter jersey, your responsibility is to always go for a win, but we didn’t manage it today, and have to look at the big picture.”

Como’s last victory over Inter was 1-0 in December 1985, managing two draws in the next 15 meetings, and they were beaten 4-0 at San Siro when these sides met most recently in December 2025.