Inter 5-1 Venezia: Thuram at the double in Coppa Italia rout

Marcus Thuram scored twice as Inter roared into the Coppa Italia quarter-finals with a 5-1 win over Serie B side Venezia at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. 

The tie was put beyond doubt after three goals in 16 first-half minutes from Andy Diouf, Francesco Pio Esposito and Thuram, before the Frenchman doubled up after the break. 

And though Richie Sagrado's 66th-minute strike offered hope of an unlikely turnaround, Inter substitute Ange-Yoan Bonny's stunner sealed their progression late in the game. 

A fast start from the nine-time champions was rewarded in the 18th minute when Diouf raced onto Davide Frattesi's weighted pass before finishing into the bottom-left corner. 

Inter doubled their advantage two minutes later through Pio Esposito, who rifled a stunning first-time shot beyond the grasp of visiting goalkeeper Matteo Grandi from distance. 

The result was put beyond doubt when Thuram was allowed time and space to pick out the bottom corner for his seventh goal of the season across all competitions. 

Henrikh Mkhitaryan then made an immediate impact after being introduced at the break, releasing Frattesi into the box, who crossed for Thuram to nod home his second of the match six minutes after the restart. 

But Venezia got on the board when Sagrado skipped past Petar Sucic before seeing his shot deflect off Carlos Augusto and loop over Josep Martinez. 

However, the goal of the game came in the 75th minute, with Bonny sending a stunning drive into the top-right corner after being found by Mkhitaryan's chested knock down. 

Data Debrief: Thuram leads the way for free-scoring Inter

Inter have so often thrived at this stage of the Coppa Italia, and they delivered again here, reaching the quarter-finals of the competition for the 25th time over the last 30 editions. Indeed, only Juventus and Lazio (both 26) have managed to do so more often in that time. 

But they were helped by their ruthless first-half showing, which saw them net three goals in the first 45 minutes across all competitions for the first time since November 2024 (five against Hellas Verona in Serie A), while they did so in the Coppa Italia for the first time since January 2019 against Benevento. 

And Cristian Chivu will have Thuram to thank. Since his debut for Inter in 2023-24, only Lautaro Martinez (61) and Duscan Vlahovic (41) have scored more goals than the Frenchman (40) for a Serie A side in all competitions.

Inter were worthy of their win, registering an expected goals (xG) total of 3.22 from their 19 shots to Venezia's measly 0.15 from their five attempts, ensuring they have now won seven of their last eight home games in all competitions (1L) after winning just three in front of their fans in the previous eight (D2, L3).