Soccer Football - Coppa Italia - Inter Milan v Napoli - San Siro, Milan, Italy - February 12, 2019 Inter Milan's Stefan de Vrij in action with Napoli's Fabian Ruiz REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo
A stunning goal from Spanish midfielder Fabian Ruiz gave Napoli a 1-0 win at Inter Milan in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final after the visitors dominated a cagey game at the San Siro on Wednesday.
Ruiz curled a delightful left-foot shot past Inter goalkeeper Daniele Padelli in the 57th minute after a one-two with right back Giovanni Di Lorenzo.
Inter lacked energy after Sunday's spectacular 4-2 comeback win against bitter city foes AC Milan in their league derby and Napoli bossed the midfield in the first half.
Soccer Football - Coppa Italia - Inter Milan v Napoli - San Siro, Milan, Italy - February 12, 2019 Inter Milan's Nicolo Barella in action with Napoli's Dries Mertens REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo
Dries Mertens fired over the bar with a first-time shot in the 16th minute and the visitors also came close on the stroke of halftime as Padelli denied Piotr Zielinski.
However, Padelli was powerless when Ruiz unleashed a sublime effort which left the keeper clutching thin air.
A weary-looking Inter threw men forward in the closing stages but Napoli held out comfortably to gain the upper hand ahead of the return leg on March 5.
Soccer Football - Coppa Italia - Inter Milan v Napoli - San Siro, Milan, Italy - February 12, 2019 Inter Milan's Romelu Lukaku in action with Napoli's Nikola Maksimovic REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo
The home side missed their best chance to salvage a draw in stoppage time, when Napoli goalkeeper David Ospina smothered a close-range shot by substitute Danilo D'Ambrosio.
AC Milan host Juventus in the first leg of the other semi-final on Thursday, with the return scheduled for March 4.
Soccer Football - Coppa Italia - Inter Milan v Napoli - San Siro, Milan, Italy - February 12, 2019 Inter Milan's Alexis Sanchez in action with Napoli's Giovanni Di Lorenzo REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo
(Reporting by Zoran Milosavljevic; Editing by Ed Osmond)
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