Eriksen makes debut as Inter beat Fiorentina to enter Italian Cup semis

New signing Christian Eriksen enjoyed a memorable debut as Inter Milan defeated Fiorentina 2-1 on Wednesday to reach the Italian Cup semi-finals.

After three successive draws in Serie A, Antonio Conte’s Inter were far from their best but still had enough to set up a last-four clash against Napoli.

In a poor first half, Inter edged ahead just before the break when Antonio Candreva scored from close range after a pass from Lautaro Martinez who had made the most of a mix-up between Fiorentina’s Federico Ceccherini and goalkeeper Pietro Terracciano.

Martin Caceres headed the visitors level on the hour before Nicolo Barella settled the tie with a blistering volley seven minutes later.

Danish star Eriksen, signed on Tuesday from Tottenham for 22 million euros, was brought on as a substitute for Alexis Sanchez just before Barella’s strike.

“We did not intend to use Eriksen so soon, as he only started training with us yesterday, but Matias Vecino and Barella were the only available midfielders,” said Conte.

“Eriksen has character and raises the quality level.”

Eriksen said he wanted to “try something new” in an emotional letter tweeted to Tottenham’s fans on Wednesday following his move to Inter.

Eriksen ended his six-and-a-half-year spell with the north London club on Tuesday after completing a £17 million ($22 million) move to Italy. The Danish international was a key part of the side that reached last season’s Champions League final and finished in the top four of the Premier League for the past four seasons under Mauricio Pochettino.

However, his departure has been a drawn-out process as he stated his desire to leave at the end of last season and left with less than six months to go on his contract, allowing Inter to secure his services for a cut-price fee.

Agence France-Presse