Coppa Italia quarter-finals: Holders Lazio exit, as the semi finals are set

A moment of brilliance by Gonzalo Higuain was enough to see Napoli past a dogged Lazio side, who defended resiliently, yet offered little in attack. The loss is Edy Reja’s first since replacing Vladimir Petkovic.

The home side were denied a penalty five minutes after the restart. Novaretti didn’t get any of the ball as he bundled over Higuain, but the referee waved play on.

But in the second half, Fiorentina, seemingly content with their lead, failed to press, or to keep possession in Siena’s half. The visitors, on the other hand were much more lively and little by little forced the viola to defend. In the 59th minute, after a free kick from the right, Guillermo Giacomazzi headed the ball into the far corner of Neto’s goal, evening the scoreline.

Goals: Iličić 20’, Compper 76’

Unfortunately that didn’t set the tone for an action-packed opening, with game very scrappy early on. It took a while for the pattern of play to set, with neither side able to construct cohesive attacking moves. When the game eventually settled, it unfortunately wasn’t the most thrilling affair.

Udinese were a match for their Milanese hosts, but no more than that. The result was a drab midfield skirmish, and a game lacking in invention and gusto.

AC Milan injuries and suspensions

Out: Stephan El Shaarawy, Ignazio Abate, Giampaolo Pazzini (injured). In doubt: Kévin Constant.

You’d think that a Coppa match featuring Serie A’s top two sides would be a thriller. You might expect plenty of shots from both sides, desperate blocks, fantastic saves, even intriguing midfield matchups.

Not so from the meeting between Roma and Juventus. For the first 25 minutes, nothing much at all happened, unless you’re the type that enjoys watching the visitors pass the ball around inside their own half. With Juve inviting pressure, Roma began to work their way into the match. While the flowing attack typical of Rudi Garcia’s team was present, the giallorossi just couldn’t capitalize. The cross would come in, no one was there to get on the end of it. A ball would be sent across the face of goal, and no one followed through to knock it in.

Welcome to Italy, where nothing much of consequence happens in the domestic cup for the first four months, then all of a sudden, teams play about 12 games within the span of a week. Then the winners of this round go on to play the first leg of the semi-finals only to, for some unknown reason, wait until April to play the second.

Makes perfect sense, yes?