Making their first appearance in the last four of the Coppa Italia since 1986, Como were looking to take advantage of Inter’s recent fragility in cup competitions, with the Nerazzurri knocked out of the UEFA Champions League after losing both legs of their play-off tie against unfancied Bodo/Glimt.
And in the first half, the hosts were the dominant side, enjoying the lion’s share of possession and using it to keep their opponents running almost throughout.
However, they had to wait until the 42nd minute for their first real chance when Mergim Vojvoda - by far the most threatening player before the break from either side - beat a couple of Inter players before curling beyond the far post with the outside of his boot.
Inter are runaway Serie A (SA) leaders, and it seems inevitable they will get their hands on the Scudetto this term, but they were total passengers prior to the interval here - they had managed just one shot, and none on target, by the time the whistle blew.
Within five minutes of the restart, Como wasted a gilt-edged chance to put themselves in front. Hrvoje Smolcic got himself down to the byline and whipped a cross towards the near post, where the unmarked Alex Valle was seemingly waiting to tap the ball home.
However, the Spaniard got his connection all wrong, and Inter goalkeeper Josep Martinez breathed a huge sigh of relief as the ball bounced wide.
Inter, for their part, were slightly more adventurous and made several second-half substitutions, but they still created far too little to cause Como any problems - remarkably, Christian Chivu’s men failed to work Jean Butez between the home sticks even once during this cagey affair.
Overall, this seemed to be a game in which neither side wanted to give anything away ahead of the second leg towards the end of April.
Before then, both teams will continue with their Serie A objectives - while Inter are 10 points clear at the summit, Como are just three points adrift of the top four and therefore a maiden appearance in the Champions League.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Diego Carlos (Como)