The second Coppa Italia Quarter Final on Wednesday night was a one-team show as Milan ripped a yielding Lazio side to pieces with four unanswered goals. The Rossoneri thus won the right to face cross-town rivals Inter in a double-leg Semi Final to be played on March 2 and April 20.
It went all right for Milan, who played like a perfect machine as they built on their enthusiasm for the last weekend’s win in the Derby della Madonnina. Lazio, on the other hand, suddenly seemed to have forgotten their brilliant performance against Fiorentina from last Saturday and put together a frankly embarrassing showing.
What’s worse, the Biancocelesti lost their talisman Ciro Immobile, who left the pitch for an injury on 61 minutes. It was simply a night to forget for Maurizio Sarri and co.
Twenty-four minutes into the game, Rafael Leao was brilliantly picked by Alessio Romagnoli with a long-range pass on which the Lazio defense was caught totally unprepared. The Portuguese’s conclusion was clinical and left no chance to Pepe Reina, opening the scoring for the home side.
Lazio tried to replicate with a similar feat from Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, but Ciro Immobile failed to connect with the Serbian’s cross from the midfield line.
Then, it was Milan all again, with the Rossoneri extending their lead to three goals before the half time break. Olivier Giroud seems to have taken a liking for scoring braces as he made it to the scoresheet twice in five minutes, just like he did a few days ago in the Derby di Milano.
The Frenchman’s job was made easier by the Lazio defense’s persistent state of confusion, with the Biancocelesti pierced twice from the center of the box. Rafael Leao and Brahim Diaz showed no mercy in cutting through the Lazio backline and serving Giroud two easy chances to tap the ball in.
The game was virtually over after the first half but there was still time in the second half for Franck Kessié to make his way back to the scorecard with a razor-sharp shot on 79 minutes.
Maurizio Sarri had lashed at the Coppa Italia format in the days ahead of the game calling the domestic cup a “unsportsmanlike competition” due the draw allegedly favoring the bigger clubs. Be that as it may, his side’s performance tonight would not have taken them far regardless of the opposition.
MATCH SCORECARD
February 9, 2022 – Coppa Italia 2021-2022 Quarter Finals
MILAN – LAZIO 4-0
SCORERS: 24′ Rafael Leao, 41′ Giroud, 45’+1′ Giroud, 79′ Kessié
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MILAN (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Calabria (77′ Tomori), Kalulu, Romagnoli, Hernandez; Kessié, Tonali (46′ Bennacer); Messias (61′ Saelemaekers), Brahim Diaz, Rafael Leao (77′ Maldini); Giroud (61′ Rebic) (Mirante, Tatarusanu, Florenzi, Gabbia, Bakayoko, Castillejo, Krunic) Coach: Pioli |
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LAZIO (4-3-3): Reina; Hysaj (62′ Lazzari), Luiz Felipe, Patric, Marusic; Basic (51′ Luis Alberto), Cataldi (51′ Lucas Leiva), Milinkovic-Savic; Felipe Anderson (51′ Pedro), Immobile (68′ Raul Moro), Zaccagni (Adamonis, Strakosha, Floriani, Kamenovic, Radu, A. Anderson; Cabral, Romero) Coach: Sarri |
REFEREE: Mr. Sozza from Seregno
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Tonali (M), Luiz Felipe (L); Added Time: 1st Half 1′, 2nd Half 0′