Coppa Italia, Lazio in semifinals: Bologna knocked out on penalties, Provedel decisive

Lazio clinched a place in the semifinals of the Coppa Italia by overcoming Bologna after penalty kicks in the match played Wednesday night at the Renato Dall’Ara stadium. After the 1-1 draw in regulation time, with goals by Castro for the Rossoblù and Noslin for the Biancocelesti, Sarri’s team got the better of the penalty spot by imposing itself 4-1. Ivan Provedel was decisive, author of two saves that directed the series of shots from the penalty spot. Lazio will now face Atalanta in one of the tournament&#8217s two semifinals, the other being the one between Inter and Como.

The match begins with a brighter Bologna: Italiano’s team presses from the first minutes and finds the lead on 30′ thanks to Castro, good at taking advantage of an action built together with Moro. The Rossoblù also hit a crossbar on 15′ with Cambiaghi, but the result did not change until the intermission. Lazio reacted in the second half and found the equalizer on 48′ with Noslin, who came in for Pedro late in the first half due to a bad injury suffered by the Spaniard and was immediately decisive. From there on, the match remains balanced until the 90′: there is no extra time, it goes directly to penalties.

Francesco Lucivero

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In the classic lottery of shots from the eleven meters, Provedel made the difference: the Biancocelesti goalkeeper parried Ferguson’s penalty and hypnotized Orsolini, while Lazio’s shooters (Tavares, Dia, Marusic and Taylor) were flawless. Useless was the penalty realized, on the other side, by Dallinga. For Sarri it was an important success in a complicated season, while Bologna, the defending champions, exited the tournament in the last quarterfinal, continuing their moment of crisis: only two wins in ten games played in 2026.

The semifinals of the 2025-2026 Italian Cup are the competition&#8217s only round to feature challenges over the 180-minute distance instead of dry matches. The first leg will be played in early March, and the return leg in the third decade of April. The grand final will be staged at the Olympic Stadium in Rome on May 13 at 9 p.m.

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Of the four emifinalists, three have already won the competition: Lazio seven times, most recently in 2019; Inter nine times, most recently in 2023; and Atalanta once, in 1963. Como, on the other hand, has never won the most important national cup, but it boasts a Coppa Italia in Serie C, won in 1997, and one in Serie D, won in 2008.