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In the Italian Cup, all the first knockout round matches were played. The Rome clubs "Roma" and "Lazio" secured easy victories against third division teams, while "Palermo" failed to win against "Bari" and played a goalless draw. The match between "Cagliari" and "Sampdoria" ended in a draw as well.
Recently struggling "Palermo" visited "Bari," who plays in Serie B. The hosts had better chances to score, especially in the 70th minute when Nicola Vantaggiato's attempt to lob the ball over the goalkeeper was blocked by the crossbar, ending the match in a goalless draw.
Rome's "Lazio" started their tournament by playing at home against surprise package "Cittadella," a team from Serie C1. Even though the home team's coach Delio Rossi fielded a second-choice lineup, it was enough for his team to win a dull match 2-0. Simone Inzaghi scored first from the penalty spot, while Goran Pandev sealed the victory at the end of the match.
Interesting matches took place in Naples, where the legendary local "Napoli," who also plays in the third division, played against "Roma." In a tense match filled with clashes between fans and the police, the visitors outperformed their opponents. Alberto Aquilani and Shabani Nonda scored in the first half after the opponents made defensive errors, and 16-year-old Stefano Okaka secured the victory in the 83rd minute.
In the final match on a rainy and windy day in Sardinia, Serie A underdog "Cagliari" faced Genoa's "Sampdoria" for the second time in two weeks. "Cagliari" had won the previous match 2-0 at the end of November, but this time the hosts struggled, conceding a goal from Marco Pavanas. However, "Cagliari" managed to equalize with a goal from the young Andrea Cocco towards the end of the match.
Therefore, with "Lazio" and "Roma," along with the earlier away win by "Inter" and the home win by "Milan," secured their places in the next round. The participants for the next round will be decided in the New Year, as the return leg matches of the cup's round of 16 will be played on January 5-6.
Italian Cup Round of 16 results:
"Bari" 0 - 0 "Palermo"
"Lazio" 2 - 0 "Cittadella" 39` [1 - 0] Simone Inzaghi (pen.) 84` [2 - 0] Goran Pandev
"Napoli" 0 - 3 "Roma" 34` [0 - 1] Alberto Aquilani 41` [0 - 2] Shabani Nonda 83` [0 - 2] Stefano Okaka
"Cagliari" 1 - 1 "Sampdoria" 68` [0 - 1] Marco Pavan 89` [1 - 1] Andrea Cocco
