Como Vs Inter Milan [0-0] Coppa Italia Semi-Final First Leg 2025/2026: Cesc Fàbregas’ Missed Opportunity – Tactical Analysis

Como hosted Inter Milan for the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-finals, and the match ended in a 0-0 draw, carrying the battle on into the second leg, which will be played at the San Siro.

The match saw Como get very close to scoring but fail to do so due to finishing errors and a failure to use a proper striker up front.

It also witnessed an unconvincing performance from Inter Milan, putting them in a worrying mood ahead of the Derby della Madonnina, especially following a very negative exclusion from the UEFA Champions League at the hands of Bodø/Glimt.

In this tactical analysis article, we focus mainly on how Como approached the match and how they tried to disrupt Inter Milan’s defence, while also shedding light on Inter Milan’s discreet attacking performance.

Como Vs Inter Milan Lineups & Formations

Cesc Fàbregas started the match in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Jean Butez as the goalkeeper, with Jacobo Ramón, Diego Carlos as centre-backs, Ivan Smolčić as a right-back, and Álex Valle as a left-back.

The midfield comprised Sergi Roberto and Máximo Perrone as central midfielders, with Mërgim Vojvoda and Lucas Da Cunha as wingers, Maxence Caqueret as the advanced playmaker, and Nico Paz as the team’s false nine.

On the other side, Cristian Chivu started the match using a 3-4-2-1 formation with Josep Martínez in goal behind Yann Bisseck, Francesco Acerbi, and Alessandro Bastoni as the three centre-backs.

Matteo Darmian started the match at right wing-back, while Carlos Augusto played as a left wing-back, with both Petar Sučić and Hakan Çalhanoğlu playing as central midfielders.

Upfront, the team used both Andy Diouf and Davide Frattesi as wide playmakers behind the team’s main striker, Pio Esposito.

Como Attacking Variations Vs Inter Milan Disappointing Performance

Como approached the match with different attacking and defensive formations compared to their previous games, defending in a 5-4-1 formation and using a 4-2-3-1 formation in the possession phase.

This initially surprised Inter Milan and obliged them to seek alternative options to break their opponent’s defensive organisation.

At the same time, Como used Paz as a false nine at the expense of Anastasios Douvikas, who is a proper striker, and this was not really a successful decision, as a heavy presence inside the box was needed, especially to block defenders and benefit from the poor match sharpness of a defender like Acerbi.

Instead, Fàbregas preferred to play without references inside the box and used both Paz and Caqueret in rotation when needed.

That said, Como’s attacking solutions relied on quick, short passes in midfield, relying on the chemistry between the players and the interchangeability of their positions, including among the attacking players.

Moreover, they tried to exploit Inter Milan’s high defensive block.

They relied on providing through passes at the back of that defensive line whenever one of the players made an intelligent forward run at the back of the defence.

Como Reliance On Line-Breaking Key Passes & Forward Movements Without The Ball

On this occasion, it was Vojvoda who made the movement without the ball at the back of Augusto and was rewarded by a line-breaking key pass from Da Cunha.

Vojvoda was good enough at protecting the ball against Augusto as soon as he received it, and he found himself in a 1v1 situation against the goalkeeper.

Still, his finishing was not good enough despite the very inviting opportunity.

It should also be said that the referee signalled that Vojvoda was initially in an offside position.

But despite the foul, this action illustrates Como’s attacking plans and their solutions to break Inter Milan’s defence, relying on key passing and movements without the ball, especially from the wings.

Como Reliance On Quick Attacking Transitions

As the game progressed, Como showed other aspects of their attacking play through a well-played attacking transition that allowed the team to quickly move towards the box and get very close to scoring.

Como’s quick passing, continuous improvement, and the quality they are confirming with each game in terms of passing accuracy are helping them a lot in surpassing the opponent’s first and second line of defense.

In this act, Ramón intercepts a pass and quickly passes the ball to Valle.

The latter immediately notices Da Cunha’s very intelligent forward movement without the ball at the back of three Inter Milan players, exploiting the space they left at their back and receiving a quick and accurate pass from Valle.

The quick decision-making and execution of the pass from Valle helped Da Cunha find himself in a perfect situation to keep advancing with the ball on the left wing without disturbance.

And as soon as he reached the box, he saw Paz escaping from marking and positioning himself intelligently on the far post, away from Bastoni, as shown in the picture.

Da Cunha failed to execute his cross, which was blocked, preventing a nearly perfect attacking opportunity for Comoto that could have been scored if the ball had reached Paz.

Inter Milan Discrete Attacking Solutions  

The use of Diouf as an advanced playmaker to accompany Esposito in attack was not very successful for Inter Milan, as Diouf was always distant from Esposito, which conditioned both players’ ability to conserve the ball inside Como’s penalty area or to create quick passing exchanges.

The lack of intelligent movement without the ball from Diouf conditioned Inter Milan’s attacking performance, as it put extra pressure on Esposito, who was tightly marked by two defenders and did not receive the support needed to break Como’s defence.

During the second half, Inter Milan made changes to how they handled the possession phase, using a 3-4-2-1 with both Frattesi and Diouf supporting Marcus Thuram, who replaced Esposito, to guarantee more attacking presence in the final third.

Thuram’s presence inside Como’s own half disturbed the defence mainly because he moved a lot with and without the ball and retreated regularly to contribute to the playmaking process, something that confused Como’s defenders in terms of key marking.

Thuram’s leaning towards the right and left wings at times, and hisretreatg to midfield,d helped create some space for penetrations without the ball at the back of Como’s defenders.

Frattesi exploited this well enough and made a few dangerous movements without the ball, as he received through passes in line with his runs and could have found himself in a 1v1 with the goalkeeper if the final pass was accurate.

In one of Inter Milan’s few dangerous second-half actions, Thuram’s retreat created spaces for Frattesi, who attacked those spaces and was noticed by Augusto.

However, Augusto’s through pass was not accurate enough, and Frattesi did not have the pace needed to make extra efforts to catch the pass, missing a crucial opportunity for getting a precious advantage over Como despite the fact that Como were the better side in terms of chance creation.

The match confirmed that Inter Milan suffers from an attacking perspective and lacks solutions without the services of some of their starting players, as they have failed to disturb Como throughout the match, despite the second-half changes.

In the final minutes of the game, Inter Milan resorted to using Denzel Dumfries as a second striker in an attempt to exploit his pace and potentially provide him with long passes at the back of his direct marker.

However, Como were attentive enough to such ideas and did not award spaces to Inter Milan, obliging them to finish the match with a draw as both sides failed to score.

For Como, the second-half changes were made too late and therefore did not have a tangible impact on the game, as Como were unable to create attacking actions in the last part of the match.

It would have been more useful to make those attacking substitutions early in the second half in order to disturb Inter Milan’s defence at the moment when Como were having a bit of momentum.

Conclusion

Both teams played a very cautious game, with more action and a greater desire to score on Como’s side, despite their failure to do so, mainly due to the absence of a proper striker in the box and the reliance on Paz, who retreated a lot and was strictly marked when he advanced.

Scoring the dangerous Valle opportunity would have changed everything ahead of the second leg, as Valle had a very good opportunity to score from a cross he received inside the box, but failed to finish with accuracy, proving once again the consequences of not having a striker in that area.

On the other hand, it was clear that Inter Milan’s priority was to rest some of their key players, such as Lautaro Martínez and Federico Dimarco, for the Derby of Milan, which will take place next Sunday.

That’s one reason Inter Milan did not play this match to their full potential, as their attacking performance was not good enough, lacking solutions and giving the impression they were not very determined to score in this first leg.

That can be understandable mainly because the second leg will be played at San Siro, but, if we link Inter Milan’s performance in this match and their performance in the latest UEFA Champions League game against Bodø/Glimt, we get the impression that Inter Milan are not having a good moment as a team and are failing to keep their high standards whether in terms of ambitions or in terms of determination on the pitch.