Sampdoria dismantled Serie A league leader Inter Milan 3-0 Wednesday in their Italian Cup semifinal first leg.

Antonio Cassano opened the scoring in the ninth minute.

Giampaolo Pazzini took the advantage of Inter's loose defense as he headed a corner in on the half hour mark. The former Fiorentina forward grabbed a second on 42 minutes when Inter again failed to clear a ball in the box.

But Sampdoria lost defender Daniele Gastaldello to a second yellow card on the hour.

The rain swept 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 semifinal first leg with the second legs taking place in April.

Source: Xinhua