Roma have almost assured themselves of a semi-final place. Meanwhile, it’s all square between Sassuolo and Milan in the 2020/21 Coppa Italia quarter-finals.
Saturday was full of action, with 11 goals scored across two fixtures. Juventus defeated Empoli in a 4-5 comeback win while Inter Milan all but sealed the deal with a 2-0 win over Fiorentina.
Sunday also brought the heat, with a total of six goals scored. Here’s how it all unfolded.
Florentia San Gimignano 0-4 AS Roma
How the teams lined up
Florentia SG: Friedli, Bursi (68’ Ceci), Dongus, Pisani, Boglioni, Bardin (87’ Imprezzabile), Re, Pugnali (68’ Wagner), Anghileri (54’ Nilsson), Cantore (87’ Dahlberg), Martinovic
Roma: Caesar, Soffia, Bernauer, Alves (81’ Corelli), Giugliano (56’ Severini), Bartoli, Serturini (73’ Bonfantini), Thomas, Swaby, Lázaro, Linari
Early goal
It took Roma just five minutes to open the scoring here in Tuscany. A pass from Annamaria Serturini found Paloma Lázaro in the box. After some good close control of the ball, her shot sailed past the Swiss keeper Seraina Friedli.
Lázaro rises
On the half hour mark, a corner floated in by Andressa Alves was met by Lázaro at the near post. Her header was too powerful for Friedli to keep out.
Serturini speed
On the stroke of half-time, Serturini went on a run from the halfway line. Too quick for Giulia Bursi, her run took her into the Florentia area where she made no mistake with her strike. 3-0 at the break and the home side with a mountain to climb already.
Second half
Two minutes after the break, Florentia’s nightmare continued. Serturini turned provider again with a lovely pass into the feet of Andressa. The Brazilian skipped past the challenge of Elena Pisani and continued her run into the box. All alone in front of Friedli, she stroked the ball home with her left foot.
Roma rules
In the end, Roma take a 4-0 advantage back to the capital for the second leg. It’s hard to see how Florentia can stop their progress to the semi-final.
Sassuolo 1-1 AC Milan
How the teams lined up
Sassulo: Lemey, Philtjens, Mihashi, Pirone (83’ Cambiaghi), Dubcova, Monterubbiano (58’ Bugeja), Brignoli (77’ Brignoli), Orsi, Santoro (58’ Tomaselli), Lenzini, Filangeri
AC Milan: Korenčiová, Fusetti, Bergamaschi, Giacinti, Dowie (68’ Grimshaw), Rizza, Čonč (55’ Mauri), Vitale, Agard, Boquete, Šimić
First half
Milan started the game on the attack. An early corner saw Valentina Bergamaschi’s header cleared off the line.
Sassuolo had their first chance after eight minutes. A Valeria Pirone header was well saved by Mária Korenčiová.
Sassuolo missed chance
With seven minutes to go before the break, the home side had a golden opportunity to take the lead. When Pirone played the ball across to Valeria Monterubbiano, it left the forward with only the keeper to beat. Though, her strike hit straight at Milan’s Slovakian stopper.
Giacinti goal
Sassuolo found themselves punished for that miss just before half-time. Verónica Boquete’s well paced through ball found Valentina Giacinti in the penalty area. The Milan captain’s first time shot found the back of the net and the away side went into the break 1-0 up.
Embed from Getty ImagesSecond half
Sassuolo improved in the second half, thanks to the introductions of both Haley Bugeja and Martina Tomaselli. The home side attacked much more during this half. Meanwhile, Milan looked happy to settle for the 1-0 win with Korenčiová booked for time wasting.
Golden Grimshaw chance
Despite Sassuolo’s domination after the break, it would be the away side who had the best opportunity of the second-half.
Bergamaschi played the ball into Giacinti. As the keeper came out, Giacinti opted to lay it off for the unmarked Christy Grimshaw.
With the goal unprotected, Grimshaw’s first time shot went just wide of the post. That was a big chance missed for Milan to grab a second away goal and make the second leg a little easier.
Sassuolo strike late
As the half progressed, the home side kept up their attack on the Milan goal. A Bugeja run into the box ended with an attempt that never troubled the keeper. Davina Philtjens also found herself with a chance in the area, but she was unable to keep her shot low enough.
With the game in added time, the Belgian defender redeemed herself and gave Sassuolo a deserved equalizer.
Embed from Getty ImagesMartina Lenzini sent a cross high into the Milan area. Veronica Battelani managed to get her head on the end of. That header then found the unmarked Philtjens, whose first touch gave her the chance to shoot. There was no mistake this time and Korenčiová was finally beaten.
Next time
Milan take an away goal advantage into the return leg in two weeks time. Though, Sassuolo will have gained a lot of confidence from this performance. They still have a great chance of making the Coppa Italia semi-final stage.
