Sampdoria batter Inter 3-0 in SF first leg

Sampdoria strike duo Giampaolo Pazzini and Antonio Cassano exposed a brittle Inter defence to give the 10-man hosts a shock 3-0 win in their Italian Cup semi-final first leg last night.

Inter coach Jose Mourinho rotated his line-up and paid the price when Nelson Rivas, unaccustomed to playing at right-back, allowed Cassano to steal the ball and chip reserve keeper Francesco Toldo on nine minutes.

Pazzini made the most of more loose Inter defending when he headed in from close range following a corner and the former Fiorentina striker grabbed a second on 42 minutes when the Serie A leaders again failed to clear a ball in the box.

Samp lost defender Daniele Gastaldello to a second yellow card on the hour but Inter, bidding to reach their fifth straight final, did not come especially close late on.

The rainswept Genoa night got worse for Inter when striker Mario Balotelli was carried off on a stretcher after collapsing in the middle of the pitch having collided with the post minutes earlier.

Lazio beat Juventus 2-1 at home in Tuesday's semi-final first leg with the second legs taking place in April.