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Six out of eight first-leg matches of the Italian Cup round of 16 took place on Wednesday. Among the top league clubs, only Tomo Danilevicius' "Livorno" suffered a defeat against "Arezzo" away from home, while "Milan" bounced back after conceding goals and defeated "Brescia" with Marius Stankevicius.
In a crisis-ridden "Milan", coach Carlo Ancelotti fielded a not-so-strong lineup for the cup competition and found his team trailing by two goals after the first half against "Brescia" at home - Matteo Serafini scored from a penalty in the 34th minute, and just three minutes later Luis Alfageme capitalized on goalkeeper Zeljko Kalac's mistake.
Nevertheless, "Milan" did not give up and managed to turn the game around in the last half-hour. After an hour of play, Dario Simic headed the first goal for the hosts after a pass from Cafu, Cristian Brocchi equalized with a long-range shot in the 67th minute, and substitute striker Filippo Inzaghi put Milan ahead in the 78th minute after a corner kick. At the end of the match, Marco Borriello secured the victory with a precise shot, but "Brescia" gained a two-goal advantage away from home and will seek revenge in the return leg.
One of the most interesting round of 16 matchups was the Tuscan derby between "Arezzo" and "Livorno". In the 32nd minute, Serie B underdogs took the lead with a header from Daniele Martinetti, and in Livorno's response, T. Danilevicius' shot was cleared off the goal line by a defender.
In the middle of the second half, "Arezzo" was already leading 2-0, as Daniele Martinetti scored his second goal from the penalty spot, but in the 66th minute, T. Danilevicius' active play reduced the deficit with a shot deflecting off the goalkeeper, giving "Livorno" hope before the second leg through Andrea Giallombardo's goal.
In other matches, lower league teams fared worse, as "Triestina" at home had to acknowledge the superiority of "Roma" after Vincenzo Montella's two goals, while "Empoli" won at home by a narrow margin against "Genoa". The matches between Serie A clubs were more interesting - an eventful match between "Reggina" and "Chievo" ended in a 2-2 draw, and "Sampdoria" defeated one of the leaders of the national championship "Palermo" with a single goal from Emiliano Bonazzoli.
Results of the first-leg round of 16 matches in the Italian Cup:
"Reggina" 2 - 2 "Chievo"
26' [1 - 0] Nicki Billie Nielsen
37' [2 - 0] Palmiro Di Dio
75' [2 - 1] Victor Obinna (pen.)
85' [2 - 2] Paolo Sammarco
"Sampdoria" 1 - 0 "Palermo"
79' [1 - 0] Emiliano Bonazzoli
"Milan" 4 - 2 "Brescia"
34' [0 - 1] Matteo Serafini
37' [0 - 2] Luis Maria Alfageme
60' [1 - 2] Dario Simic
67' [2 - 2] Cristian Brocchi
78' [3 - 2] Filippo Inzaghi
86' [4 - 2] Marco Borriello
"Arezzo" 2 - 1 "Livorno"
32' [1 - 0] Daniele Martinetti
61' [2 - 0] Daniele Martinetti (pen.)
66' [2 - 1] Andrea Giallombardo
"Triestina" 1 - 2 "Roma"
44' [0 - 1] Vincenzo Montella
49' [0 - 2] Vincenzo Montella
77' [1 - 2] Lorenzo Rossetti
"Empoli" 1 - 0 "Genoa"
45' [1 - 0] Simone Iacopini
