The round of 32 in the Coppa Italia has concluded. Fabio Grosso's Sassuolo secured a victory at Lecce's Via del Mare with a goal in each half: Muharemovic opened the scoring in the 13th minute, and D'Andrea doubled the lead in the 79th. The Neroverdi, currently third in Serie B, will face Milan at San Siro in the round of 16. After three consecutive league defeats (currently last in Serie A with 2 points from 5 games), Cagliari needed a response, and they delivered. Davide Nicola's Rossoblù eliminated Cremonese with a goal from Lapadula in the 60th minute. They will face Juventus in Turin in the next round.
The real upset came from Roberto D'Aversa's Empoli. The Tuscan side, in excellent form with 9 points from 5 league matches (still unbeaten, along with Torino and Juventus), pulled off a 2-1 victory over Paolo Vanoli's Torino: Ekong opened the scoring in the 30th minute, Che Adams equalized in the 74th, and Haas sealed the win and Empoli's qualification in the 90th minute. A Tuscan derby against Fiorentina awaits in the round of 16.
In a Serie B-flavored clash between Pisa and Cesena, Celia’s goal for the visitors decided the match at Arena Garibaldi. Michele Mignani’s Cesena defeated Filippo Inzaghi’s Pisa 1-0, earning an intriguing round of 16 tie against Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta.
Coppa Italia: first round kicks off on August 10th. The teams involved
31 Jul - 22:32 •
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Udinese had little trouble dispatching Salernitana with a 3-1 win. The Friulians took the lead through Bijol in the 20th minute, only to be pegged back five minutes later by Simy. Lucca restored Udinese's lead with a penalty before Ekkelenkamp added a third early in the second half. Salernitana missed a late penalty, saved by Sava, and saw Maggiore sent off with a straight red card. Udinese, led by Kosta Runjaic, will face Simone Inzaghi’s Inter in the round of 16.
A fiery and high-tension Derby della Lanterna took place at the Ferraris. Before and after Genoa-Sampdoria, there were scuffles and clashes between the two sets of fans. Pinamonti sent the Rossoblù fans into raptures in the 9th minute, but the Blucerchiati equalized in the 83rd minute through Borini, despite being reduced to ten men after Romagnoli's red card. In the penalty shootout, Andrea Sottil’s Sampdoria was more accurate, winning 6-5 to claim the Genoa derby and secure a spot in the round of 16, where they will face Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.
For Monza, it was smooth sailing against Brescia. Alessandro Nesta’s side scored three goals in the first half with Kyriakopoulos (assisted by 2005-born Kevin Martins, son of former Inter player Oba Oba), captain Pessina, and Caprari (from the penalty spot). Brescia's only goal came in the 68th minute from Nuamah. Monza will face Bologna in the round of 16.
Finally, Antonio Conte's Napoli scored five goals against Alessio Dionisi's Palermo. The Southern derby was decided by goals from Ngonge (2), Juan Jesus, Neres, and McTominay (the first goal in an Azzurri shirt for the former Manchester United player). Palermo was reduced to ten men in the 58th minute after Vasic's red card. In the round of 16, it will be Lazio vs. Napoli.
