"Milan" eliminated from the Italian Cup tournament © EuroFootball.com

The quarter-final matches of the Italian Cup were played - unexpectedly "Udinese" advanced to the semi-finals by crushing the country's champion "Milan" at home, as well as "Roma" advanced to the next stage after a tense battle winning against "Cagliari" while maintaining the advantage from the first leg. "Milan" managed to secure a tough victory at home with a score of 3-2, so for the return match Coach C.Ancelotti decided to give more playing time to the substitutes, and was punished - the impressive "Udinese" crushed the opponents with a score of 4-1 and eliminated them from the tournament. The match in Florence was dramatic, where "Fiorentina" defeated the "Roma" team in regular time with a score of 1-0 and since the first match ended with the hosts' victory, extra time was played, during which the score did not change, even though two players from the visiting team were sent off the field. Penalty shootouts were taken, and Roma's footballers performed better, advancing to the semi-finals. The match between "Sampdoria" and "Cagliari" in Genoa was eventful. The hosts led throughout the match, but the visitors kept narrowing the score, and the final difference of 3-2 satisfied them, as in the first leg "Cagliari" won by two goals. "Inter" from Milan had already advanced to the semi-finals, and now they will face "Cagliari", while in the other pair "Roma" will compete against "Udinese". Quarter-final match statistics 1 - 0 (First leg 0-1, aggregate score 1-1, penalty shootouts 6-7) 12' [1 - 0] Matteo Ferrari (own goal) 97' Matteo Ferrari, 120' Daniele De Rossi (both "Roma") sent off the field 4 - 1 (First leg 2-3, aggregate 6-4) 21' [1 - 0] Vincenzo Iaquinta 61' [2 - 0] Stefano Mauri 77' [2 - 1] Jon Dahl Tomasson 81' [3 - 1] David Di Michele (penalty) 90' [4 - 1] Stefano Mauri 3 - 2 (First leg 0-2, aggregate 3-4) 19' [1 - 0] Cristiano Doni 22' [1 - 1] Mauro Esposito 37' [2 - 1] Vitali Kutuzov 42' [3 - 1] Cristiano Doni 79' [3 - 2] Mauro Esposito 75' Cristiano Doni ("Sampdoria"), Loris Del Nevo ("Cagliari") sent off the field