🤯 Endless penalties: Como through, Napoli out, Lukaku error, Lobotka miss | OneFootball

In a packed Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Napoli and Como faced off in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals. Fabregas’ Larians emerged victorious after an endless penalty shootout. The match ended 1-1 after 90 minutes.

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Baturina’s first-half lead was answered by Vergara in the second, in a second half well played by Napoli. In the penalty shootout, Lukaku missed in the first set of 5, and then, in sudden death on the eighth penalty, Stanislav Lobotka missed the decisive shot.

A historic result for Como, as highlighted by Opta. 

📃 The Penalty Shootout Sequence. Lukaku in Despair

An endless series of penalties, with the first 5 shots from the spot not enough to decide the winner. Napoli and Como went to sudden death. Here is the sequence. 

Da Cunha (C), goal; Politano (N), goal; Douvikas (C), goal; Lukaku (N), missed; Baturina (C), goal; Spinazzola (N), goal; Perrone (C), missed; Alisson Santos (N), goal; Smolcic (C), goal; Elman (N), goal; Diego Carlos (C), goal; Milinkovic-Savic (N), goal; Vojvoda (C), goal; Gutierrez (N), goal; Valle (C), goal; Lobotka (N), 

Vanja’s goal was unique: with his usual powerful shot, he hit the crossbar, then Butez, and finally the ball went in. 

Obvious despair for Big Rom.

❌ Penalties Coming Up. Paz Out

The 90 minutes were not enough for Napoli and Como to secure a spot in the semi-finals. It will go to the penalty lottery, the second time in two matches for the Partenopei, who also went to penalties against Cagliari.

With penalties looming, Cesc Fabregas plays it safe and, also for tactical reasons, takes off Nico Paz for Vojvoda. 

😡 Napoli Protests, Conte FURIOUS

Immediately after the goal, Napoli protested vehemently for a double yellow not given to Jacobo Ramon for a foul on Hojlund at the edge of the box. The situation infuriated Napoli, with Conte arguing heatedly with the fourth official Ayroldi: "You need courage to make these decisions," was the quote, slightly softened, reported by Mediaset.

Fabregas, sensing the danger, immediately took Ramon off.

⚡ Vergara Equalizes, Accidental Assist from Hojlund

On the first play of the second half, Napoli equalizes. A vertical pass and Hojlund, who misplaces his pass, turns it into an assist for Vergara, who is through on goal.

Napoli’s young talent, one-on-one with Butez, doesn’t miss. 

⚠️ Playstation-like Move and Como Penalty. Baturina Scores

In the 36th minute, a textbook move from Como with a long ball to Valle, who crosses first-time for Smolcic. The full-back, just as he’s about to shoot, is brought down by Olivera and Manganiello has no doubts, awarding a penalty confirmed by VAR.

Baturina steps up and slots it past Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, who guesses the right way but can’t keep it out. 

🗣️ Manna’s Words

Giovanni Manna, Napoli’s Sporting Director, spoke to Mediaset.

"Transfer market? It’s complicated and we decided to focus on young players like Giovane and Alisson Santos, who have qualities for the future as well. We’re waiting for them and we’re calm. Scudetto? First of all, I’d like to be able to count on the whole squad or at least with ‘normal’ injuries. Unfortunately, we’ve had long-term injuries: I would have liked to compete with the full squad.

The first goal was the Supercoppa and we’ve already won it, and in the Coppa Italia we want to go further. In the league, we’re in line with expectations." 

✅ Official Lineups

NAPOLI (3-4-2-1): Milinkovic-Savic; Beukema, Rrahmani, Juan Jesus; Mazzocchi, Lobotka, Elmas, Olivera; Giovane, Vergara; Hojlund.

COMO (4-2-3-1): Butez; Smolcic, Ramon, Diego Carlos, Valle; Perrone, Sergi Roberto; Caqueret, Nico Paz, Baturina; Addai.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.