Coppa Italia: penalties fatal to Napoli, Como in semifinals

Napoli defeated on penalties at the Maradona Stadium, so it will be Como who will play in the Italian Cup semifinals against Inter. After the 1-1 draw in the 90 minutes (Baturina, who scored from the penalty spot at the end of the first half, was answered by Vergara in the first seconds of the second half), it was Kempf and especially Butez who gave Cesc Fabregas the great joy of the passage to the round. Antonio Conte, on the other hand, is betrayed by Stanislav Lobotka and “pupil” Romelu Lukaku. For the Larians, it is the second semifinal in history: the previous one dates back to 1986.

Marco Enzo Venturini

The match at the Maradona appeared balanced from the first minutes, with Hojlund and Giovane immediately dangerous for Napoli, but with Como responding in the following minutes thanks to Nico Paz and Caqueret. In the final minutes of the half it was then Olivera who knocked down the wily Smolcic in the box, excellently served by Valle. It was the first penalty of the match, which Baturina converted at 39′ beating a Vanja Milinkovic-Savic who also had thrown himself on the right side. Last thrill before halftime: the check for possible red card against Ramon, foul on Hojlund. But the card remains yellow.

Naples, furious with the first half performance, returned to the field determined in the second half where Vergara equalized already in the first minute: excellent Hojlund intuition, bad management of the moment by a still distracted Como. Both teams believe in the passage of the round, however, and the pinwheel of changes confirms the difficulties of both Conte and Fabregas in unhinging their opponents. The hosts come close to taking the lead with Rrahmani and it is even Nico Paz who saves on the line for the Larians, then Milinkovic-Savic opposes Vojvoda. And there comes the’inevitable: penalties.

The first three are duly converted: Da Cunha and Douvikas for Como, Politano for Napoli go in. The fourth to appear on the penalty spot, however, is Lukaku, and it is precisely his the first mistake of the sequence. After Baturina and Spinazzola find the goal, however, Milinkovic-Savic’s save on Perrone brings everything back to even.

The lottery never seems to end, with Alisson Santos, Smolcic, Elmas and Diego Carlos all scoring. Milinkovic-Savic himself also scores, also helped by the crossbar. Vojvoda, Gutierrez and Kempf do not miss either. It is precisely the latter’s goal, however, that becomes the 7-9 goal worth the Italian Cup semifinal for Como, as Butez says no to Lobotka and eliminates Napoli.