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Three more round of 16 matches were played in the Italian Cup tournament. Approaching the quarterfinals are Milan "Inter", who won with a minimal advantage against "Parma" away, Bergamo "Atalanta", who beat "Udinese" at home, and Turin "Juventus", who played a draw against local "Fiorentina" in Florence. The return leg matches of the round of 16 will take place on January 5-6.
0 - 1
74` [0 - 1] Obafemi Martins
In the matches where both teams with not strongest lineups had opportunities to stand out, "Inter" won against "Parma" thanks to a single goal by Obafemi Martins - in the 74th minute he headed the ball into the net after a corner by Sinisa Mihajlovic and gave his team a one-goal advantage before the return leg at home.
1 - 0
53` [1 - 0] Antonino D`Agostino
"Serie B" team Bergamo "Atalanta" also gained a minimal advantage this season, defeating "Udinese" at home. In the first half, the hosts hit the crossbar twice, and "Udinese" player Fernando Tissone hit the post, and after the break, "Atalanta" finally took the lead when Antonino D`Agostino scored after a defender's mistake. "Udinese" was close to an equalizing goal, but F.Tissone's luck did not shine, and he hit the crossbar after a well-taken penalty - the hosts celebrated victory.
2 - 2
38` [1 - 0] Valeriy Bojinov
50` [2 - 0] Giampaolo Pazzini
53` [2 - 1] Gianluca Pessotto
69` [2 - 2] Adrian Mutu
The most intriguing was the match between "Fiorentina" and "Juventus" - longtime rivals faced each other again after a few years break. In the open game's start, both teams exchanged dangerous attacks, and the visitors' striker M.Zalayeta came close, but his shot hit the crossbar. In the 38th minute, the hosts took the lead when V.Bojinov scored after a beautiful team combination, almost doubling the lead soon after, but this time the crossbar saved "Juventus."
The second half of the match started with an incident - just two minutes into the game, due to ongoing unrest outside the stadium, the police had to use tear gas, which spread onto the field. Fans and players could no longer breathe freely, so the match referee had to temporarily stop the game and wait for the gas to dissipate.
After an unplanned 35-minute break, the match was resumed, and "Fiorentina" immediately doubled the result - Giampaolo Pazzini received the ball in the penalty area and precisely shot into the "Juventus" goal past Gianluigi Buffon, who returned from injury. However, the Italian champions did not give up and soon Gianluca Pessotto softened the deficit with a penalty goal.
"Juventus" coach Fabio Capello immediately made three substitutions - Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Emerson, and Pavel Nedved. The changes livened up the game, and in the 69th minute, Adrian Mutu equalized, catching goalkeeper Sebastien Frey unprepared for his pass-shot. The rest of the match remained unchanged, so with two away goals scored, "Juve" have good chances to advance to the quarterfinals.
