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In the Italian Cup, the quarterfinal matches began. It was a better day for the favorites of Milan clubs in their pairs - "Milan" narrowly defeated "Palermo" at home after a late goal, while "Inter" scored an away goal and played a draw with "Lazio". Meanwhile, the match between "Udinese" and "Sampdoria" also ended peacefully, and the most intense match should take place on Thursday evening when "Juventus" and "Roma" clubs will play.
Roma 1 - 1 Milan 26` [0 - 1] Dejan Stankovic 27` [1 - 1] Christian Manfredini 4` Paolo Di Canio ("Lazio") and Nicolas Burdisso ("Inter") sent off
Although both teams did not come out with their strongest lineups at the Rome Olympic Stadium, the battle was intense from the first moments - just in the fourth minute, the referee showed a red card to "Lazio" veteran Paolo Di Canio and thirteen years younger opponent defender Nicolas Burdisso.
The hosts started the match better and posed a threat to the visitors' goal several times, but in the 26th minute, "Inter" broke through - Giuseppe Favalli passed the ball into the penalty area, where Dejan Stankovic, running in, sent the ball into the net with his left foot.
However, Milan's advantage lasted only a minute, as after Igli Tare's pass, "Lazio" defender Christian Manfredini blasted past Milan's goalkeeper Francesco Toldo. Shortly after, "Inter" had another chance - I.Tare's powerful shot from 20 meters shook F.Toldo's crossbar.
After the break, "Lazio" debutant Stefano Mauri had a great chance, but he failed to find the target. Later, "Inter" took over the initiative, but they struggled to break through the opponent's defense and only threatened from set pieces.
In one of them, J.Cruz missed a good opportunity after a corner, where he battled for the ball with goalkeeper Marco Ballotta but shot over the goal. As the match approached its end, "Inter" defender David Pizarro was close to scoring with a header, but the ball went wide, and in the final moments of the game, I.Tare failed to capitalize on a good position after "Lazio's" counter-attack. The score remained unchanged, so "Inter" took a one-goal lead into the return leg away from home.
1 - 0 86` [1 - 0] Alberto Gilardino
In this match, the newly arrived Brazilian Marcio Amoroso made his first appearance for "Milan", forming a striking duo with Italian Alberto Gilardino. Meanwhile, Palermo fielded two new January signings Denis Godeas and David Di Michele.
In the early exchanges, Palermo had the first chances to score - at first, Mariano Gonzalez was denied a shot by veteran Alessandro Costacurta, and then after Fabio Grosso's pass, D.Di Michele missed the target. Soon after, the Sicilian goalkeeper Mariano Gonzalo Andujaras had work to do, denying Marek Jankulovski's penalty shot and a great attempt by Rui Costa.
After playing an hour, A.Gilardino had the best chances in the first half, but his header was weakly directed straight at the goalkeeper. After the break, the same player failed to score again, while on the other side, D.Godeas missed an open goal after a pass from Fabrizio Biava.
In the 80th minute, Palermo could have taken the lead after a mistake by goalkeeper Zeljko Kalač, but Andrea Caracciolo failed to control the ball, and the hosts' defense cleared the danger. However, with four minutes remaining, A.Gilardino secured the victory, receiving a pass from Kaka after a nice combination and sending the ball into the net - "Milan" triumphed and took a one-goal advantage into the return leg in Sicily.
1 - 1 Genoa 23` [1 - 0] Antonio Di Natale 76` [1 - 1] Aimo Diana
In the third match, the past couple of seasons' contenders in the Italian championship for places in European tournaments, "Udinese" and "Sampdoria" clubs, faced off. In the seventh minute, the only "Udinese" striker Antonio Di Natale was close to scoring, but his shot hit the crossbar, and "Sampdoria" responded with a dangerous shot from Aimo Diana.
In the end, in the 23rd minute, A.Di Natale found the back of the net after a pass from the recently joined Roberto Baronio, deceiving the defender and beating "Sampdoria" goalkeeper Luca Castellazzi with a low shot. After an hour, the same A.Di Natale almost chipped the goalkeeper with a clever shot, but in the 76th minute, the visitors equalized - Francesco Flachi's heel deflection set up A.Diana for a close-range finish.
At the end of the match, the Genoa team could have snatched the victory, but the young Salvatore Foti failed to score. The match ended in a draw, favorable for "Sampdoria" who will play the return leg at home on February 1st, while for "Udinese" coach Serse Cosmi, this result under pressure could be costly.
