Como won 7-6 on penalties against Napoli to advance to the Coppa Italia semi-finals after a 1-1 draw in regulation time during the match played tonight at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium in Naples. According to the Argentine News Agency, for the team coached by Spaniard Cesc Fàbregas, midfielder Lucas Da Cunha, forward Anastasios Douvikas, midfielder Martin Baturina, defenders Ivan Smolcic, Diego Carlos, Mergim Vojvoda, and Marc Kempf scored, while Argentine midfielder Máximo Perrone missed his penalty. For the home team, forward Matteo Politano, midfielder Leonardo Spinazzola, attacker Alisson Santos, midfielder Eljif Elmas, goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, and defender Miguel Gutiérrez scored, while attackers Romelu Lukaku and midfielder Stanislav Lobotka missed. With the win, Como advanced to the semi-finals, where they will face Inter Milan for a place in the final. There were no dangerous attacks until the 35th minute of the first half, when defender Ivan Smolcic was brought down inside the opposing area, resulting in a penalty for Como. It was executed three minutes later by midfielder Martin Baturina and became the first goal of the match with a low and crossed shot that beat goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic. The home team had no goal-scoring opportunities until the 45th minute, with a free-kick near the large area taken by Eljif Elmas that deflected off the wall and passed just centimeters from the crossbar. The equalizer came in the first minute of the second half, when midfielder Antonio Vergara found himself one-on-one and beat the opposing goalkeeper with a low shot, opening his left foot. Napoli threatened again in the 20th minute of the second half with a corner to the first post that was headed by defender Amir Rrahmani, but Argentine midfielder Nicolás Paz managed to clear it off the line. During the penalty shootout, which was highly effective, two Napoli players missed their shots, giving the victory to Como: Lukaku shot wide on the first attempt, and goalkeeper Jean Butez saved Lobotka's penalty to seal the classification.
