Roma and Udinese seek cup final

Roma look to defend a narrow lead from the home leg when they visit Napoli on Wednesday in the second leg of the Italian Cup semi-finals.

The Giallorossi from Rome won 3-2 at the Stadio Olimpico last week and are in a similar situation to Udinese, who visit Fiorentina on Tuesday with a 2-1 lead.

Serie A action on Sunday saw Roma stutter to a scoreless draw in a city derby with Lazio - a result that disappointed the fans, given the many chances missed.

"We should have done more and better upfront," Roma coach Rudi Garcia said. "We attacked, but should have been more determined in the box.

"Sometimes it happens that the team who dominate have a wrong offensive approach. We must improve that. Now let's concentrate on the return of the Italian Cup, which will be hard also physically as Napoli had one more day of rest."

The Naples side on Saturday rallied with a brace from Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain to beat AC Milan 3-1. The win came after two draws and a defeat, and kept Napoli third in the league, four points behind second-placed Roma.

"I compliment my players for the (cup) game in Rome and for the home win (Saturday), when we played with great intensity and quality," said Napoli coach Rafael Benitez.

"Higuain can make a difference, but the team-mates helped him a lot and created many chances upfront. We could have done even more, but we did very well already in Rome." Both Fiorentina and Udinese were convincing at home on Saturday, when the Viola beat Atalanta 2-0 and the Udine side had the better of Chievo.

Fiorentina are fourth, three points adrift of Napoli, while Udinese moved nine points away from the drop zone as they continue to rediscover their form after a dismal period.

The away goals rule, extra time or a penalty shoot-out may even be needed to determine who will meet in the final on May 5.


2 min read

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Updated

Source: AAP


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