Lukaku nets 2 as Inter beats Cagliari to reach quarters of Italian Cup

Inter Milan's Romelu Lukaku, right, duels for the ball with Cagliari's Fabio Pisacane during an Italian Cup soccer match between Inter Milan and Cagliari. (Antonio Calanni/AP)

Romelu Lukaku scored twice as Inter Milan beat Cagliari 4-1 on Tuesday to reach the Italian Cup quarterfinals.

Inter, which last won the trophy in 2011, will face either Fiorentina or Atalanta, who play Wednesday.

Antonio Conte’s side dominated from the start and took the lead after just 22 seconds when Lukaku capitalized on an error from Cagliari midfielder Nahitan Nandez.

Lukaku though he had doubled his tally 10 minutes later but it was ruled out for offside.

Inter did extend its lead in the 22nd minute when Borja Valero bundled in a cross from close range. He originally hit the underside of the crossbar but managed to turn in the rebound.

Lukaku got his second shortly after the interval before Christian Oliva reduced the deficit for Cagliari. But Andrea Ranocchia restored Inter’s three-goal advantage nine minutes from time.

OTHER MATCHES

Holder Lazio will face Napoli in the quarterfinals after both beat second-division teams.

Lazio beat Serie B struggler Cremonese 4-0, with Spanish winger Jony setting up three of the goals.

Lorenzo Insigne converted two first-half penalties to give Napoli a 2-0 win against Perugia, which is eighth in the second division.

In the other Round of 16 matches, it’s: AC Milan vs. Spal; Juventus vs. Udinese; and Parma vs. Roma.

[relatedlinks]

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.