February 11, (THEWILL) — Como progressed to the Coppa Italia semi-finals for the first time in 40 years after beating Napoli 7-6 on penalties, following a 1-1 draw. Goalkeeper Jean Butez proved the hero in sudden death, diving right to save Stanislav Lobotka’s kick and eliminate last season’s Scudetto winners at the quarter-final stage.
Cesc Fabregas’ team controlled the first half and took the lead in the 39th minute through Martin Baturina’s penalty. The spot-kick was awarded after Mathias Olivera fouled Ivan Smolcic, who had been trying to turn home a cross at the far post. Napoli equalised just 44 seconds into the second half when Antonio Vergara raced onto Rasmus Hojlund’s flick and finished calmly.
Both sides threatened to find a winner before the tie went to penalties. Nico Paz cleared off the line to deny Napoli, while Vanja Milinkovic-Savic produced a sharp save to keep out Mergim Vojvoda at the other end.
Romelu Lukaku missed first in the shootout, sending his effort wide of the right post, though Milinkovic-Savic kept his side alive by denying Maximo Perrone. Eight consecutive successful penalties followed, including one from Milinkovic-Savic that hit the crossbar, the back of Butez’s head and the post before crossing the line.
Lobotka stepped up in sudden death but Butez guessed correctly, parrying the midfielder’s attempt to seal a famous victory for Como.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
