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On Tuesday, in the first leg of the Italian Cup quarterfinals, "Palermo" avenged the minimal loss to "Milan" in the previous match and crushed the opponent with a score of 3-0 to advance to the tournament semi-finals where they will face the winner of the second leg match between Turin's "Juventus" and "Roma" scheduled for Wednesday.
3 - 0 (First leg 0-1, aggregate score 3-1) 10` [1 - 0] Mariano Gonzalez 18` [2 - 0] Andrea Caracciolo 49` [3 - 0] Mariano Gonzalez
The new coach of "Palermo" team, Giuseppe Papadopulo, immediately changed the players' positions on the field - Mariano Gonzalez and David Di Michele supported attack leader Andrea Caracciolo, while "Milan's" coach Carlo Ancelotti responded with a more cautious tactic, in which the only striker Alberto Gilardino had attacking help from winger Kaka.
With just eight minutes left, the latter had a great opportunity to put his team ahead, but after Fabio Grosso's mistake, goalkeeper Mariano Andujaras saved the Sicilians from Brazilian's shot on the goal line. As it soon became clear, this missed chance cost dearly for the "Milan" club.
Just two minutes later, "Palermo" broke through - Mariano Gonzalez sent the ball into the top corner of the goal from 30 meters with a powerful shot, leaving goalkeeper Zeljko Kalac watching the opponent's "shot" go past him from a bit further out.
At the 18th minute, the hosts doubled their lead as A. Caracciolo, after a pass from M. Gonzalez, lobbed the ball past the goalkeeper in his signature style and gave the "Palermo" team a one-goal advantage in the overall result of both matches. Following a few more minutes, free in the penalty area, D. Di Michele tried a similar shot, but the ball flew wide of the post.
The shocked "Milan" tried to calm down with experienced defender Marcos Cafu attempting a shot, but his goal was disallowed due to offside, and later another attempt was caught by the Argentine goalkeeper M. Andujaras. The first half ended with "Palermo" leading 2-0.
After the break, "Palermo" again took the initiative and scored the third goal after four minutes. Dario Simic and Zeljko Kalac disagreed on who should take the ball, and M. Gonzalez took advantage, slipping between both opponents and sending the ball into the "Milan" goal for the second time.
Carlo Ancelotti tried to improve the situation by sending Serginho, Andrea Pirlo, and Filippo Inzaghi onto the field from the bench, but they also failed to turn the match in favor of their team, while "Palermo" players Simone Barone and D. Di Michele threatened to increase the crushing lead.
In the final minutes of the match, goalkeeper M. Andujaras saved his goal from shots by C. Seedorf and Kaka, keeping his net clean - former "Siena" and "Lazio" coach G. Papadopulo's debut in Sicily ended with a stunning victory for "Palermo" and the club's third ticket to the Cup semi-finals in history.
