MILAN: Inter Milan scraped into the Coppa Italia quarter-finals after the Serie A leaders were taken to penalties by third-division Pordenone on Tuesday.

Pordenone goalkeeper Simone Perilli pulled off several saves in regulation time to keep the game scoreless, and he almost proved to be the hero during the shootout, stopping two penalties.

But Inter prevailed 5-4, with Yuto Nagatomo tucking away the final spot kick after 120 minutes of frustration at the San Siro to put the seven-time winners through to a showdown with either AC Milan or Verona.

“The lads were brilliant, they were brilliant and you couldn’t ask for more, they took Inter to penalties, for us it’s like winning the Italian Cup,” Pordenone coach Leonardo Colucci said.

“When you get to penalties it’s a lottery, anyone can make a mistake, I appreciated all those who had the courage to take one. [Inter Coach Luciano] Spalletti told me that we deserved to go through, I thank him because he is a loyal, honest and sincere person.”

Luciano Spalletti’s decision to overhaul his squad after last Saturday’s goalless draw against Juventus backfired against the spirited Serie C side from near Venice who eliminated top-flight Cagliari in the last round.

“The players who have played less found it difficult tonight, because Pordenone had quality in midfield,” said Spalletti.

“We couldn’t take control of the ball to play, we felt challenged instead of everyone dealing with their various roles, and then from a psychological point of view everything became complicated because they became fired-up as the game went on.

“We were below our potential. At the end I was starting to lose confidence.”

Defender Andrea Masiello sealed Atalanta’s first away win of the Serie A season with his header lifting the Bergamo outfit to a 2-1 win in Genoa and into eighth spot.

The match was scheduled for Monday but was postponed for 24 hours due to bad weather.

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2017