Fiorentina reach quarters
Inter Milan’s Sebastiano Esposito kicks the ball during an Italian Cup soccer match between Inter Milan and Cagliari at the San Siro Stadium in
Milan, Italy on Jan 14. (AP)
MILAN, Jan 15, (AP): Pol Lirola’s late goal gave 10-man Fiorentina a 2-1 win over Atalanta on Wednesday and a place in the Italian Cup quarterfinals.
Lirola hit an angled shot into the bottom left corner in the 84th minute to help Fiorentina eliminate last season’s runners-up.
Fiorentina will face Inter Milan in the next round.
Patrick Cutrone had given Fiorentina an early lead with his first goal since joining the club from Wolverhampton Wanderers last week.
Atalanta twice hit the crossbar before Josip Iliić leveled in the 67th minute. And it seemed as if the match had turned three minutes later when Fiorentina defender Germán Pezzella was shown a second yellow card, for diving, and sent off.
However, the home side managed to find a winner despite being a man down, sparking celebrations on the
Fiorentina bench.
Romelu Lukaku scored twice as Inter Milan beat Cagliari 4-1 to reach the Italian Cup quarterfinals.
Inter, which last won the trophy in 2011. Antonio Conte’s side dominated from the start and took the lead after just 22 seconds when Lukaku capitalized on an error from Cagliari midfielder Nahitan Nandez.
Lukaku though he had doubled his tally 10 minutes later but it was ruled out for offside.
Inter did extend its lead in the 22nd minute when Borja Valero bundled in a cross from close range. He originally hit the underside of the crossbar but managed to turn in the rebound.
Lukaku got his second shortly after the interval before Christian Oliva reduced the deficit for Cagliari. But Andrea Ranocchia restored Inter’s three-goal advantage nine minutes from time. way below his usual standards. Eriksen said as long ago as the offseason that he might fancy a new challenge in his career after six seasons at the London club.
Jose Mourinho’s best chance of a trophy in his first season as Tottenham manager lies with the FA Cup, and the team’s road to Wembley Stadium hasn’t started smoothly.
A 1-1 draw at Middlesbrough brought the teams back to London for a replay, which Tottenham started well and took a two-goal lead after 15 minutes through Giovani Lo Celso and Erik Lamela.
Middlesbrough, managed by former England and Real Madrid defender Jonathan Woodgate, battled back in the second half and ensured a nervy end to the game for Mourinho when Tottenham goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga failed to keep out George Saville’s 83rd-minute strike from the edge of the area.
Spurs hung on and will play Southampton away next in an all-Premier League matchup. “I told my players at halftime if we don’t score (to make it) 3-0 then if (it is) 2-1, we would be in
Middlesbrough’s Paddy McNair (left), and Tottenham’s Son Heung-min challenge for the ball during the English FA Cup third round replay soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Middlesbrough FC at the Tottenham
Hotspur Stadium in London on Jan 14. (AP)
trouble and it happened,” Mourinho said. “We knew the opponents were hard.”
Newcastle have a great chance to go beyond the fourth round for the first time since 2006 after easing past Rochdale
4-1 to set up a match with another thirdtier team, Oxford. Paraguay playmaker Miguel Almiron, with his fourth goal in seven games, completed a flurry of early goals by pouncing on a goalkeeper error
to make it 3-0 after 26 minutes. Joelinton added a fourth in the 82nd minute, for the Brazilian striker’s first goal since August and only second since his offseason move from Hoffenheim in Germany.