It was a wild weekend of Coppa Italia action with all kinds of different outcomes and headlines from the games, from Patrick Cutrone saving AC Milan to Moise Kean’s quality performance to games marred by racism in Milan and Rome, the Coppa Italia had it all this weekend.
Coppa Italia Roundup: Big Teams Win Setting Up Wild Quarter-Finals
Sampdoria 0-2 AC Milan
The biggest game of Saturday’s Coppa Italia action was AC Milan travelling to Genoa to take on Sampdoria. Milan have really struggled with injuries this season, limping into the midseason break. Their squad is getting healthy again but, more importantly, the start of January means Milan could debut one of their new signings in this game.
Lucas Paqueta is a 21-year-old midfield playmaker out of Flamengo in Brazil. He is a technically-gifted left-footer who plays mostly in central midfield, either as a number ten or a part of a midfield three. In this game against Sampdoria, Gennaro Gattuso decided to use him in the latter position.
However, Paqueta and the rest of his Milan teammates played a pretty uneventful 90 minutes against Sampdoria. The less time spent on those minutes the better, but the extra time deserves attention. Patrick Cutrone was Gattuso’s first substitute in extra time and boy was it a big one. The young Italian midfielder made an instant impact off the bench, scoring twice from two volleys after excellent crosses.
Milan Takeaways
The goals put Milan through to the last eight of the Coppa Italia but it also raised some concerns. Milan have played at their best all season in a 4-4-2 shape, the shape they changed to with the introduction of Cutrone. However, their roster is very much built to play a 4-3-3. They only carry two strikers and are often forced to play wingers out of position to get the best results.
Things are about to get even thinner. Gonzalo Higuain has seemingly been linked with a move away from San Siro since his arrival and it appears he is going to get it. Gattuso said after the game that it’s hard to change a player’s mind once it’s been decided, and it seems Higuain has decided on a move to Chelsea. Check back with FTN for the latest news on that.
Juventus Keep Cruising
Juventus went away to Bologna for their Coppa Italia match and got a very professional 2-0 win in the Renato Dall’Ara. The highlight of this game was young Italian striker Moise Kean getting a start for the Bianconeri. The 18-year-old hasn’t seen much first team action this season, so it was very exciting to see him play with a strong first-team line-up.
Kean is an incredibly quick player who loves to run off the shoulder of defenders. His goal against Bologna put his pace on full display. He made a good run into the middle of the defence as Douglas Costa took on a shot with his left foot. The shot took a couple of ricochets before Kean was the first to react and he flicked the ball home from there. Quick reactions and decisive and inventive finishing are great signs for an 18-year-old striker.
The other big takeaway from this game for Juventus was the strong play of Leonardo Spinazzola. The Italian left-back has been working his way back for over a year after a serious injury while on loan at Atalanta. Juventus will be pleased to see that he played well, and played 80 minutes without any issues.
The Other Big Teams Cruise
Inter Milan, Napoli and Lazio all found easy wins at home in their Coppa Italia games but each game made headlines for their own unique ways. Let’s start with Inter, who were playing their first game behind closed doors after the awful racism incident against Napoli last month. Despite playing in front of an empty San Siro, Inter Milan thrashed Serie B side Benevento 6-2. The big takeaway being the brace scored by Luartaro Martinez, a great sign that he is settling into Italian football.
Next, to Naples, where Napoli had a comfortable 2-0 win over Sassuolo at the San Paolo. There weren’t a lot of changes to their side, except for in midfield. Carlo Ancelotti gave his young midfielders, Fabian Ruiz and Amadou Diawara, the chance to start and they starred. They bossed the midfield, allowing their attacking players to get at Sassuolo and create chances like the one Ruiz scored the second goal with.
Finally, Lazio. The fascist side of Rome reared its ugly head again on Saturday during Lazio’s 4-1 win over Serie B side Novara. The Lazio fans were making racist and anti-Semitic chants towards their cross-town rivals, Roma, but the club would rather dismiss it as a ‘psychosis’ rather than treat it as the problem that it is. Such is the case with most racism in Italy. A shame, really.
The Next Round
So, with all that said, the eight teams left in the Coppa Italia are AC Milan, Juventus, Fiorentina, Lazio, Inter Milan, Napoli, Atalanta, and Roma. With all of these big clubs into the next round, it should create some cracking match-ups.
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