Chasing a successive Coppa Italia final place, Inter dominated right from kick-off, having all the possession whilst Juventus sat back, defending deep.
The home side almost broke the deadlock in the opening minutes but Edin Dzeko failed to get his head on target after being picked out at the back post by Nicolo Barella.
The Italian midfielder was pulling all the strings from midfield and he soon unlocked the Juve defence with an exquisite pass, which Federico Dimarco ran onto from deep and slotted past Mattia Perin to open the scoring.
The Nerrazzurri were dominating a lethargic-looking Juve side and Lautaro Martinez almost doubled their lead midway through the half after dispossessing Manuel Locatelli inside his own half, but his shot from the edge of the box flew inches wide.
Massimiliano Allegri’s players struggled to make an impact on the half, with only Filip Kostic having a shot on goal that Andre Onana palmed away in an otherwise comfortable opening 45 minutes.
Juventus came out with a lot more attacking intent for the second half, playing a lot higher up the pitch but Inter, with the lead, were able to sit back and looked threatening on the counterattack.
Locatelli tested Onana early in the second period with a shot from distance, but the Cameroon goalkeeper got down well to clutch the ball. Dzeko then thought he had doubled Inter’s lead but after turning Gleison Bremer inside and out in the box and expertly finishing, a delayed offside flag was raised to cut any celebrations short.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan almost put the tie to bed but his volley was superbly saved by Perin on the stretch. Inter remained in control for the closing stages of the semi-final though, as a tepid Juventus team struggled to have any impact on the second-leg, allowing the Nerazzurri to ultimately stroll into the final.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan)
