The Coppa Italia Quarter Final games were probably the most entertaining midweek games across Europe. From some astonishing last-minute strikes to some massive disappointments, these fixtures were indeed a goal fest as we saw 14 goals in 4 games. Missed some action? Don't worry, we've got you covered. Here's a quick review of all the Coppa Italia quarter-final games that happened this week. Just sit back, grab an espresso and relax!
Inter Milan 2-0 Roma:
The first quarter final fixture saw Inter Milan hosting Roma at San Siro. Mourinho's emotional return to the stadium did not end well as Roma lost 2-0 to Inter. Edin Dzeko opened the scoring against his former club with an amazing volley in the opening minutes of the game. Roma came close on multiple occasions to equalise, but failed to convert. Later, another thunderous strike from Alexis Sanchez in the second half was enough to decide the tie as Roma's hunt for their first piece of silverware since 2008 has once again been postponed.
AC Milan 4-0 Lazio:
Another Roman club got knocked out of the tournament, and that too, by a Milanese club once again as AC Milan presented a dominating performance and scored 4 goals against the hopeless Lazio. Rafael Leao broke the deadlock, followed by a brace from the in-form Oliver Giroud, who has now scored 4 goals in his last 2 games, against Inter and Lazio. Finally, the fourth goal by Kessie sealed the fate of Sarri's men, as Milan qualifies for the Semi Finals, setting up another two-legged mouth-watering clash against Inter Milan.
Fiorentina 3-2 Atalanta:
Fiorentina defeating Atalanta in an away fixture was probably the biggest shock among the games we saw. The Tuscan club came from behind and defeated Atalanta in injury time as Gasperini and his team's poor home record continues. Piatek scored the opening goal from the spot for Fiorentina, which was quickly answered by Atalanta as they went on to score 2 goals, thanks to Zappacosta and Boga, the latter making his full debut for Atalanta. Piatek, who has now scored 11 goals in his 9 Coppa Italia appearances, levelled the scoring again in the second half. Since 2018/19, no other player has scored more goals in the competition. Just when everyone thought that the game would be going to extra time, super sub Milenkovic scored a 93rd minute winner for Fiorentina as the game ended 3-2. Even after getting reduced to 10 men in 79th minute, Italiano believed in his tactics and delivered a heavy blow to Atalanta's hopes of finally winning a trophy under Gasperini. Fiorentina has now knocked out Napoli and Atalanta so far in the tournament. Also, Atalanta has been terrible at home this season as they have managed to win just 3 games there in all competitions so far. Achilles heel!
Juventus 2-1 Sassoulo: Defending Coppa Italia champions hosted Sassoulo at the Allianz Stadium in the final quarter final clash. It was actually the first time in this competition that these two sides have faced each other and the fixture did not disappoint us. Dybala gave Juventus an early lead after finishing a beautiful move by Allegri's side. Sassoulo gave a powerful reply as they quickly started to attack and press Juventus more. In the 24th minute, their efforts got some recognition as Traore scored a stunner for Sassoulo and levelled the tie. Sassoulo kept on attacking and dominated the chances created as the first half ended 1-1. In the second half, Juventus came back stronger as they deployed more players upfront. Finally, "the talk of the town" Dusan Vlahovic created the second goal for Juventus all by himself in the 87th minute, which was later declared to be an own goal by Ruan. Juventus struggled for some parts of the game as they lacked composure, but quickly recovered and knocked Sassoulo out of the competition. Vlahovic will now face his former club Fiorentina in the two-legged semi final in March as the Turin club will be aiming to lift the trophy once again.
•Coppa Italia Semi Final Fixtures (2-legged):
- Fiorentina vs Juventus
- Inter Milan vs AC Milan
(First leg of the above-mentioned fixtures will be played on 2nd March)