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Inter begin Coppa Italia with simple win over Cagliari

Serie A leaders Inter Milan eased through to the Coppa Italia quarterfinals by beating Cagliari 3-0 on Tuesday.

Rodrigo Palacio, Marcelo Brozovic, and Ivan Perisic scored at the San Siro to set up a quarterfinal against Napoli or Hellas Verona.

Inter took the lead in the first half when Palacio turned a deflected Juan Jesus cross into an empty net.

Cagliari could have equalised early in the second half as Fabio Pisacane's glancing header crashed off the base of the left post.

Brozovic all but sealed the match with 20 minutes to go with a stunning strike from outside the area into the far corner, giving young goalkeeper Alessio Cragno no chance.

The midfielder was instrumental in the third goal, too, with an effort that came off the right post, and the rebound was turned in by his Croatia teammate Perisic.