AC Milan ruin fairytale and romp into Italian Cup final
AC Milan ruthlessly extinguished any remote prospect of a footballing fairytale as they hammered third-tier Alessandria 5-0 in the second leg of their Italian Cup semi-final on Tuesday.
Milan can now scent their first Cup win in 13 years as they added to their first-leg 1-0 win with a thrashing of their Lega Pro visitors, featuring doubles from Jeremy Menez and Alessio Romagnoli, to wrap up the 6-0 aggregate win.
Alessandria brought more than 15,000 fans to the San Siro stadium for their big night but reality quickly bit when the five-time winners went one up after 20 minutes.
Menez on form for Milan
Frenchman Menez, back in form after spending much of the season injured, controlled the ball on his chest before smashing home a superb opener.
Romagnoli turned in a half-volley soon afterwards before Menez made it 3-0 by halftime with his clinically-taken second.
The rout continued near the end when Romagnoli had a fourth goal confirmed by goal-line technology and Mario Balotelli scored in the dying seconds.
Milan will now play either Juventus or Inter in the final, with Juve in seeming command, holding a 3-0 advantage from the first leg before the return in Milan on Wednesday.