Antonio Conte reveals what sparked his row with referee Fabio Maresca, but won’t call the 0-0 draw with Udinese a missed opportunity because Milan lost. ‘We need to think only of ourselves.’
The frustration of realising they could’ve been Winter Champions and threw it away, as Milan lost 3-0 to Atalanta, spilled out in the final minutes.
Edin Dzeko, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Pedro, Antonio Mirante, Federico Fazio and Juan Jesus have been excluded from the Roma squad ahead of Spezia.
Paulo Fonseca faces his most delicate match of the season without a host of key players, as he revealed Pedro will be out and that captain Dzeko is injured ahead of the second leg against the newly promoted side this week.
Edin Dzeko’s future at Roma is uncertain and reportedly depends on coach Paulo Fonseca’s position at the Giallorossi, but how did it get there?
SportItalia journalist Alfredo Pedulla reports the Bosnian captain could be on his way out this winter.
The report reveals Inter are not in the race, but Juventus could return for the veteran, as they missed out on the 34-year-old last summer and opted to sign Alvaro Morata on loan from Atletico Madrid.
Spezia won 4-2 against Roma in the last 16 of the Coppa Italia, but the Sporting Judge has cancelled the result and handed Roma a 3-0 defeat by default.
The Sporting Judge decided Roma another 3-0 defeat by default after the Giallorossi made too many substitutions against Spezia in the Coppa Italia.
The verdict from the Sporting Judge arrived this afternoon and confirmed the defeat by default after the sixth substitute.
Parma coach Roberto D’Aversa was frustrated by the last-gasp Lazio winner. ‘We were preparing for extra time.’
The Coppa Italia Round of 16 was in the balance, as Valentin Mihaila cancelled out the Marco Parolo opener, but Vedat Muriqi’s header went in off the upright and goalkeeper Simone Colombi.
Simone Inzaghi admits Lazio ‘didn’t have the right approach’ in the second half against Parma, but booked their Coppa Italia quarter-final date with Atalanta.
The Aquile narrowly avoided extra time, as after Valentin Mihaila wiped out the Marco Parolo opener, Vedat Muriqi’s 90th-minute header bounced off the upright and goalkeeper Simone Colombi to ricochet into the net.
Lazio squeezed past Parma 2-1 with Marco Parolo and Vedat Muriqi headers, but also hit the woodwork twice, as they set up a Coppa Italia quarter-final with Atalanta on January 27.
Both sides were missing numerous players, as Luis Alberto and Luiz Felipe only just had surgery, while the Ducali were without practically all their first choice forwards and defenders.
Muriqi was unlucky not to score his first goal in the Lazio jersey, at full stretch turning an angled drive onto the inside of the far post.
Vedat Muriqi and Andreas Pereira lead the way for Lazio in the Coppa Italia against a revamped Parma, with Atalanta waiting in the quarter-final.
It kicks off at the Stadio Olimpico at 20.15 GMT.
The tie will be decided after 90 minutes, extra time or even a penalty shoot-out.
Lazio won this trophy in 2019 and go in without numerous top players, including Luis Alberto, who was rushed to hospital to have his appendix removed on Tuesday.
Luiz Felipe also had surgery today on his ankle, with Ciro Immobile rested and Lucas Leiva suspended.
The dates and kick-off times for the Coppa Italia quarter-finals are confirmed, including Inter-Milan, Juventus-SPAL and Napoli-Spezia.
The last quarter-finalist will be decided this evening, when Lazio take on Parma.
The winners of that fixture will face off with Atalanta on Wednesday January 27.
It’s the Derby di Milano that opens the quarter-finals on January 26.
These will again all be one-off matches, to be decided after 90 minutes, extra time or even penalties.
Quarter-finals
Tension is growing at Roma with multiple reports Edin Dzeko and Lorenzo Pellegrini confronted coach Paulo Fonseca and demanded the return of team manager Gianluca Gomber.
The situation is escalating after the Coppa Italia 4-2 defeat to Spezia in extra time on Tuesday evening.
Not only was that a humiliating loss on the pitch, but they would’ve been eliminated anyway for making six substitutions rather than the five allowed.
